AI-Made Artwork Snags First Place

An artwork which snagged first place in a Colorado State Fair competition in the US saw backlash after the winning artist revealed it was generated by artificial intelligence. 

Jason Allen, president of gaming company Incarnate Games, and his AI-created submission “Theatre D’opera Spatial” received the top prize in the event’s “digital arts/digitally-manipulated photography” category two Mondays ago.

 

The winning artwork was created using the AI tool Midjourney – which turns lines of text into astonishingly realistic graphics. The award came with a $300 cash prize. 

AI tools to generate images have been around for years with companies such as Google and OpenAI being notable investors in these text-to-image systems. 

“I’m not going to apologise for it… I won and I didn’t break any rules”, Allen, who is from Pueblo, Colorado, told The New York Times newspaper in an interview published on Friday. 

Allen (left) said he had sifted through hundreds of images he made with Midjourney before entering his three favorites, including the eventual winner, into the competition. 

Speaking to The Pueblo Chieftain, judges for the event said they didn’t know his art was AI-generated – a technique that isn’t addressed in the event’s submission guidelines – but added that it wouldn’t have affected their decision. The artist told the local newspaper that he had in fact disclosed the use of AI. 

However, many have taken to social media to express their anger and despair over the award, arguing it took away from the hard work invested by humans to physically create noteworthy art. 

“This is so gross”, wrote one Twitter user. “I can see how ai art can be beneficial, but claiming you’re an artist by generating one? Absolutely not”. 

“Jason Allen, you are NOT an artist. You have never used actual tools. Just texts”, another tweeted. “Midjourney can be fun, but it should never be used to cheat other artists”. 

Some artists expressed fear it could endanger their livelihoods, while others said AI-generated art should have its own separate category going forward – something Allen in an interview with the local newspaper also suggested as a way to resolve any future controversy.