Miles Astray is a multidisciplinary artist who writes and photographs the world during his travels. When he was invited to submit a work in the artificial intelligence category of the 1839 Awards photography competition, he decided to make a statement.
“I had seen a few examples over the past couple of years where people had entered AI art into actual photography competitions, including last year at the Sony World Photo Awards, an AI photo won the creative category. I thought, why not turn this story around and enter an AI competition with a real photo?” Astray told CBS News.
Here is the (very real) photo of Astray:
Lost kilometers
Titled “FLAMINGONE,” the photograph was taken during a trip to Aruba in 2022. It depicts a flamingo scratching its belly in a way that makes the large bird appear almost headless. The image was so striking that it won both third place and the People’s Vote Award in the AI category, beating the actual award. AI creations.
“The image of Miles was just surreal enough to look like it was created by AI, which gives you an idea of what AI does and the type of imagery we expect,” Lily Fierman, director and co-founder of Creative Resource Collective, which runs the 1839 Awards, told CBS News.
AI Art is usually created by software that interprets a textual description or prompt given by the user. The software draws on thousands or even millions of reference images to generate digital images, pixel by pixel. Although increasingly realistic, many AI-generated images still possess a subtle “uncanny valley” quality, which doesn’t look quite right to the human eye.
“I wanted to show that there is a human and emotional quality here that AI cannot generate,” Astray said. “The fact that this photo was finally chosen not only by the jury, but also by the public vote, proves it and I am very happy about it.”
After hearing about his win on June 11, Astray informed contest organizers that his submission was a real photograph. The next day, he was disqualified from the competition. But judges and competition organizers expressed appreciation for Astray’s message.
“We never expected that someone would try to introduce a non-AI image into AI. I think the assumption is that it’s always the other way around,” Fierman said. “Anybody can be deceived When it comes to this kind of thing, let’s be realistic. But most importantly, ultimately, we agree with Miles’ statement. The fact that he wins and it happens organically gives a message of hope to everyone: nature and the photographer hold a key place in our world and it’s just not something that computers or AI can reproduce. »
In response to the photography prize, the photo competition added a note stating that “only images created by AI can be submitted to the AI category.”
Astray, unfazed by his disqualification, recognizes that a time may soon come when AI-generated art becomes practically identical to real photographs: “We have reached the point where some images are simply indistinguishable from a real photograph. So this technology is there, and it’s not going to disappear.
But there is still hope, he says, for the future of artists in the era of AI: “Real photographers and other content creators will always have their place.”
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