This photo got 3rd in an AI art contestâthen its human photographer came forward
The incident involving photographer Miles Astray at the 1839 Photography Awards underscores the ongoing tensions between traditional and AI-generated art.
Humans pretending to be machines isn’t exactly a victory for the creative spirit.
A juried photography contest has disqualified one of the images that was originally picked as a top three finisher in its new AI art category. The reason for the disqualification? The photo was actually taken by a human and not generated by an AI model.
To be fair, I wouldn’t put it past an AI model to forget the flamingo’s head.
The 1839 Awards launched last year as a way to “honor photography as an art form,” with a panel of experienced judges who work with photos at The New York Times, Christie’s, and Getty Images, among others. The contest rules sought to segregate AI images into their own category as a way to separate out the work of increasingly impressive image generators from “those who use the camera as their artistic medium,” as the 1839 Awards site puts it.
For the non-AI categories, the 1839 Awards rules note that they “reserve the right to request proof of the image not being generated by AI as well as for proof of ownership of the original files.” Apparently, though, the awards did not request any corresponding proof that submissions in the AI category were generated by AI.
Because of this, the photographer, who goes by the pen name Miles Astray, was able to enter his photo “F L A M I N G O N E” into that AI-generated category, where it was shortlisted and then picked for third place over plenty of other entries that were not made by a human holding a camera. The photo also won the People’s Choice Award for the AI category after Astray publicly lobbied his social media followers to vote for it multiple times.
Only 100% AI BS like this may win a Photo Contest?
Making a statement
On his website, Astray tells the story of a 5 am photo shoot in Aruba where he captured the photo of a flamingo that appears to have lost its head. Astray said he entered the photo in the AI category “to prove that human-made content has not lost its relevance, that Mother Nature and her human interpreters can still beat the machine, and that creativity and emotion are more than just a string of digits.”
That’s not a completely baseless concern. Last year, German artist Boris Eldagsen made headlines after his AI-generated picture “The Electrician” won first prize in the Creative category of the World Photography Organizationâs Sony World Photography Award. Eldagsen ended up refusing the prize, writing that he had entered “as a cheeky monkey, to find out if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter. They are not.”
In a statement provided to press outlets after Astray revealed his deception, the 1839 Awards organizers noted that Astray’s entry was disqualified because it “did not meet the requirements for the AI-generated image category. We understand that was the point, but we donât want to prevent other artists from their shot at winning in the AI category. We hope this will bring awareness (and a message of hope) to other photographers worried about AI.”
For his part, Astray says his disqualification from the 1839 Awards was “a completely justified and right decision that I expected and support fully.” But he also writes that the work’s initial success at the awards “was not just a win for me but for many creatives out there.”
We’re not sure I buy that interpretation, though. Art isn’t like chess, where the brute force of machine-learning efficiency has made even the best human players relatively helpless. Instead, as conceptual artist Danielle Baskin told Ars when talking about the DALL-E image generator, “all modern AI art has converged on kind of looking like a similar style, [so] my optimistic speculation is that people are hiring way more human artists now.”
The whole situation brings to mind the ostensibly AI-generated George Carlin-style comedy special released earlier this year, which the creators later admitted was written entirely by a human. At the time, I noted how our views of works of art are immediately colored as soon as the “AI generated” label is applied. Maybe you grade the work on a bit of a curve (“Well, it’s not bad for a machine“), or maybe you judge it more harshly for its artificial creation (“It obviously doesn’t have the human touch“).
Controversial question: Why does AI see Beauty this way?
Controversial question: Why does AI see Beauty this way?
byu/EasyGuideAI inmidjourney
In any case, reactions to AI artwork are “a reflection of all the fear and promise inherent in computers continuing to encroach on areas we recently thought were exclusively ‘human,’ as well as the economic and philosophical impacts of that trend,” as I wrote when talking about the fake AI Carlin. And those human-centric biases mean we can’t help but use a different eye to judge works of art presented as AI creations.
Entering a human photograph into an AI-generated photo contest says more about how we can exploit those biases than it does about the inherent superiority of man or machine in a field as subjective as art. This isn’t John Henry bravely standing up to a steam engine; it’s Homer Simpson winning a nuclear plant design contest that was not intended for him.
As a result, Hope Solo is releasing one of her most prolific Sex Tape… entitled “Non-AI Real Meat”
Yes, if your GF looks like this, she’s a KEEPER
Meanwhile,
Hope Solo running for President of U.S. Soccer Federation
… Not some AI bullshit.
Hope Solo Is Out Make American Soccer Great
The former U.S. Olympic and World Cup goalkeeper announced her candidacy Thursday night on Facebook. It comes less than a week after current U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said he will not seek a fourth term. His decision came in the wake of the recent failure of the U.S. men’s team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Solo anchored the U.S. team in goal during its 2015 Women’s World Cup championship run.
“I know exactly what U.S. Soccer needs to do, I know exactly how to do it, and I possess the fortitude to get it done,” Solo said in her post. “I have always been willing to sacrifice for what I believe in and I believe there is no greater sacrifice then fighting for equal opportunity, integrity and honesty, especially in an organization like the USSF that could give so much more to our communities across the nation.”
She brings a crowded field to nine candidates. She is the second woman to announce a bid for the job, joining Soccer United Marketing President Kathy Carter.
Her tenure with the national team ended following the Rio Olympics, when the Americans were ousted by Sweden in the quarterfinals. Afterward, Solo called the Swedish team “cowards” for their defensive style of play.
She was suspended from the team shortly thereafter and has not returned. Solo made 202 total appearances with the national team, with 153 wins and an international-record 102 shutouts.
She’s also been dogged by several off-the-field controversies. Those include a domestic violence case stemming from a 2014 altercation at a family member’s home in Washington state.
Other U.S. Soccer Federation candidates include former national team players Paul Caligiuri, Eric Wynalda and Kyle Martino. They’re joined by USSF vice-president Carlos Cordeiro, Boston lawyer Steve Gans, New York lawyer Michael Winograd and Paul LaPointe, Northeast Conference manager of the United Premier Soccer League.
Solo said she is campaigning on four core principles: to create a winning culture in U.S. Soccer, starting with youth development; to push for equal pay for the women’s national team and all women within U.S. Soccer; to address the “pay-to-play” model and make soccer accessible to all; and stress transparency within the federation.
“What we have lost in America is belief in our system, in our coaches, in our talent pool, and in the governance of US Soccer,” she said. “We now must refocus our goals and come together as a soccer community to bring about the changes we desire.”
TRASHY | SCANDALOUS
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