{"id":13788,"date":"2022-09-02T14:54:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T14:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/09\/02\/an-ai-generated-artworks-state-fair-victory-fuels-arguments-over-what-art-is\/"},"modified":"2022-09-02T14:54:29","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T14:54:29","slug":"an-ai-generated-artworks-state-fair-victory-fuels-arguments-over-what-art-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/09\/02\/an-ai-generated-artworks-state-fair-victory-fuels-arguments-over-what-art-is\/","title":{"rendered":"An AI-generated artwork\u2019s state fair victory fuels arguments over \u2018what art is\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/9\/1\/23332684\/ai-generated-artwork-wins-state-fair-competition-colorado<\/a>
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A game designer has sparked controversy after submitting an image created by an AI text-to-image generator to a state art competition and taking home first prize. <\/p>\n

Jason Allen entered the artwork titled \u201cTheatre d\u2019Opera Spatial\u201d in the \u201cDigital Arts \/ Digitally-Manipulated Photography<\/a>\u201d category of the Colorado State Fair fine arts competition but created the piece using a popular text-to-image AI generator named Midjourney. <\/p>\n

A Twitter post describing Allen\u2019s win went viral earlier this week<\/a> (and was first covered by Vice<\/em><\/a>). <\/em>The post elicited a strong response, with many users claiming that Allen had been deceptive in submitting the piece, particularly as most of the public is unaware of how text-to-image AI generators work. Allen, though, has defended his actions. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make a statement using artificial intelligence artwork,\u201d he told The Pueblo Chieftain<\/em><\/a>. \u201cI feel like I accomplished that, and I\u2019m not going to apologize for it.\u201d (The Verge<\/em> contacted Allen via private message but received no response at time of publication.)<\/p>\n

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TL;DR \u2014 Someone entered an art competition with an AI-generated piece and won the first prize.<\/p>\n

Yeah that’s pretty fucking shitty. pic.twitter.com\/vjn1IdJcsL<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Genel Jumalon \u2708\ufe0f Nan Desu Kan (@GenelJumalon) August 30, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Text-to-image AI systems are trained on billions of pairs of images and text descriptions, which they mine for visual patterns. Users then feed them text descriptions known as prompts, and the software generates an image that matches this description based on its training data. <\/p>\n

Although these systems have previously been the exclusive domain of well-funded tech companies like OpenAI and Google, they\u2019ve become increasingly accessible in recent months. The system used by Allen, named Midjourney, is one of the most popular and known for its finely tuned aesthetics, which often mimic contemporary digital art styles. <\/p>\n

Midjourney itself is accessible through a Discord server, where users (including Allen, who goes by the handle Sincarnate) show off their artwork and swap tips on how to improve their outputs. Allen posted on Discord that he had won the competition<\/a> last Friday, saying: \u201cI\u2019ve set out to make a statement using Midjourney in a competitive manner and wow! I could not be more excited about having won with my favorite piece.\u201d <\/p>\n