Every New Machine Sees Differently: Historical Cinematography Theories And The Ai Turn

In this paper, we examine the emergence of artificial intelligence as a transformative force in cinematographic practice and theory, situating it within a lineage of past technological ruptures in film history, including the transitions from silent to sound cinema, black-and-white to color, and analog to digital. Drawing on historical responses by key theorists such as Eisenstein, Bazin, and Manovich, we analyze whether AI represents a continuity in cinema's evolutionary arc or a qualitative rupture that demands a redefinition of cinematic ontology, authorship, and realism. We argue that while many contemporary debates around AI echo earlier anxieties about technological change, generative AI introduces a distinct shift in the logic of image-making—moving from indexical capture to algorithmic synthesis. Through comparative analysis, we explore whether AI is better understood as akin to the invention of montage—a new logic of combination—or to the arrival of synchronized sound—a new dimension added to the cinematic apparatus. Ultimately, we contend that AI both continues and disrupts cinema's technological trajectory, inaugurating a new visual regime whose implications demand renewed theoretical frameworks.