An art exhibition showcasing the past and future of the art of photography will also press viewers to be more "critical and informed" about the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Community Portraits uses a variety of photographic techniques to capture images of ordinary people in Bedford who would not usually get the chance of a professional gallery shot.

Arnab Chakravarty, a digital artist whose AI work will be on show, said he wanted viewers to question what they were seeing and "ask questions and be aware of the whole problematic nature of it."

Mr Chakravarty, who is working with Fergus Laidlaw, said: "There is a lot of hype around AI—everyone is talking about it.

"It's like the Wild West, we don't have set standards.

"People should question what they are seeing, ask questions, and be aware of the whole problematic nature of it."

In the exhibition, computers take one of the portraits, use the image description, and then create a new AI image for visitors to see if it's a successful interpretation or not.

"The machine sees the stereotypes and replicated bias, but we can see more than the person in front of us.

"This is the future we're heading towards, so let's be a bit more critical and informed about it."

The exhibition by Bedford Creative Arts (BCA), in collaborated with The Higgins, and supported by Bedford-based Fujifilm UK, features images that have been taken using cyanotype or glass-plate techniques - and the latest digital cameras.

Ami Aubrey, programme producer for BCA, said they had to chose 150 images from more than 1,000.