How AI Will Change Photography Forever
How AI Will Change Photography Forever  
Podcast: AI + a16z
Published On: Wed Sep 17 2025
Description: What if you could retake your favorite memories years after they happened, fixing the lighting, catching the smile, or even opening your eyes?In this conversation, a16z General Partner Martin Casado and Partner Yoko Li sit down with scientist and Lytro founder Ren Ng along with Phota Labs cofounders Cecilia Zhang and Zhihao “Zach” Xia to explore the past, present, and future of computational photography. They trace the story from the invention of light-field cameras and the evolution of smartphone photography to today’s AI powered retakes that preserve identity and context in ways filters never could. Together they reflect on how AI is changing what it means to capture a moment, why authenticity matters as much as aesthetics, and how the future of photography may no longer depend on a lens at all but on models that know you.Resources: Find Cecilia on GitHub: https://ceciliavision.github.io/Find Zach on GitHub: https://likesum.github.io/Find Ren on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renngFind Yoko on X: https://x.com/stuffyokodrawsFind Martin on X: https://x.com/martin_casado Timecodes:00:00 The Decisive Moment in Photography00:33 Introduction to Computational Photography01:05 Personal Histories and Connections02:27 Evolution of Computational Photography04:15 The Birth of Light Field Photography07:28 From Hardware to Software Innovations08:52 Founding of Photo Labs11:10 Generative AI in Photography13:54 The Future of Photography14:47 Personalized Visual Gen AI16:27 User Reactions and Real-World Applications17:44 Technical Innovations and Challenges24:11 New Use Cases and Exciting Prospects25:34 The Essence of Slide Photography26:16 The Future of Photography: Generative AI28:58 Authenticity in Photography32:11 Generative AI and User Behavior34:39 The Impact of Generative AI on Photography37:02 The Evolution of Photography Styles46:20 The Future of Computational Photography  Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.