@Ben551 It's one more tool that airbnb is taking away from hosts.
They already heavily, heavily favor Instant Books...where there is zero interaction between guest and host, and certainly no opportunity for any back and forth messaging to get a feel for the guests. Of course this isn't going to matter to the professionally managed properties, because it's nobody's "home" and is another example of the businses model that airbnb is moving toward.
The photos are helpful, I'm sorry, they just are. They show us how the prospective guest wishes to be seen: is he/she glaring at the camera, or smiling, are they posed with weapons, alcohol, clothing with controversial messaging, sexually suggestive clothing? Are they posed with a pet or baby...this can be a clue that we need to verify about the pet/children policy, it can also provide a basis for conversation, it tells you approximately how old the guest might be, and this too, may require slightly different sets of focus on the discussion and welcome. I could go on and on as to the benefits to a photo, that far outweigh the tiny minority of people who may discriminate based on race or ethnicity.