On the Side of the
Artist, Always
Intrepid Flights, an aerial drone photography company, declares its lasting commitment to real, human-made art and media, and its firm opposition to the use of AI tools in ways that devalue, replace, or extract from the labor of working visual artists.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN Intrepid Flights, an aerial drone photography company, today issues a formal statement of principle on the use of artificial intelligence in creative industries. This is not a commentary on technology broadly. It is a declaration of where Intrepid Flights stands when the interests of real artists are on the line.
We are a photography company. Every frame we deliver is the product of deliberate skill: reading light, understanding terrain, piloting with precision, and knowing when to press the shutter. That is craft. It cannot be replicated by a text prompt, and we will not pretend otherwise.
That position makes this statement more urgent, not less. As a visual media brand, we are acutely aware of what AI image generation does to working photographers, illustrators, and visual artists. When tools trained on scraped work, often without consent or credit, are used to produce imagery at scale and undercut human creators, the damage is real and financial. Artists lose commissions. Studios reduce headcount. The market for genuine visual work shrinks. Intrepid Flights will not participate in that erosion.
This is not a condemnation of AI as a whole. Legitimate applications exist in data, logistics, flight planning, and engineering. The line Intrepid Flights draws is specific: where AI is used to replace or diminish artists who depend on that work, we will not follow.
Credibility in visual media begins with authenticity. Every image this brand produces was earned in the air. We hold the same standard for the art, music, and writing we associate with. We invite fellow photographers, creatives, and independent media to stand with it: support artists, pay fairly, and credit generously.
Intrepid Flights Commitments
- We will not use AI-generated imagery, music, or written content as a substitute for human creative work in our brand materials.
- We will seek to commission and fairly compensate artists, photographers, and designers whose work aligns with our identity and values.
- We will credit all artists and creative contributors prominently and accurately across all publications and platforms.
- We will not license, feature, or promote tools or services whose explicit purpose is to replace human artists in creative industries.
- We will hold this standard under commercial pressure, under deadlines, and under the convenience that automation often offers. Principle is only principle when it costs something.
Intrepid Flights was built on the belief that the best shot is the one you earn by showing up, by flying the mission, and by seeing what no one else saw. That same conviction drives this position. We will not trade the integrity of real creative work for convenience. We fly higher by lifting others with us.
About Intrepid Flights
Intrepid Flights is an independent aerial drone photography company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company produces original visual content from above, serving editorial, commercial, and media clients with a commitment to craft, authenticity, and the art of flight.
Intrepid Flights
Minneapolis, Minnesota
[email protected]