Algorithmic imagery and the collapse of visual ontology

In this article, I investigate the epistemological and ontological impacts of the emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AGI) in the field of technical image, taking photojournalism as a privileged arena of this friction. I analyze the shift from the classic testimonial status of photography, anchored in indiciality and ça-a-été (it-was), towards the emergence of the "after-image" and the paradigm of "it-never-was". In methodological terms, I adopt a theoretical-conceptual and comparative approach based on the dialogue between Philosophy of the Image, Semiotics and Journalism Studies. Thus, I problematize the tension between distributed authorship, mediated by algorithmic systems, and the permanence of the non-delegable editorial responsibility of communication organizations. I conclude that the contemporary crisis does not annihilate photojournalism, but shifts the guarantee of truth from the optical-chemical technique to the ethical, methodological and political protocols of investigation, verification and institutional transparency.