Photography Contest Disqualifies Legit Snapshot For Being Artificially-Generated
Image generated on Midjourney
AI-generated art has gotten so convincing, even judges of a photography contest have struggled to tell the difference.
As such, they have rejected a genuine photo captured by Suzi Dougherty on the grounds that it is sitting in Uncanny Valley.
The image, taken on Dougherty’s iPhone, featured her 18-year-old son posing against a surreal backdrop of a Gucci exhibition, his hand extended behind him to reach for two mannequins in outfits with floral motifs. As she liked the outcome, the mother submitted the work for a competition held by Sydney-based printing and framing shop Charing Cross Photo.
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The contest’s judges recounted being “intrigued” by the photo at first before a wave of suspicion kicked in. Guided by their instincts, they decided to disqualify her entry.
“[Artificial intelligence is] a murky area at present, and until we work out how best to fairly judge these images, we just can’t accept them,” the organizers proclaimed.
“We want the images to come from YOUR real-life experience, and not sourced from cyberspace.”
The judges admitted that “there is no way we can be completely sure,” but they claimed that “you really can’t ignore the gut instincts of four judges.”
In an interview with the Guardian, the shop’s owner Iain Anderson said the team had checked the submission’s metadata but couldn’t properly verify if it was fake.
Dougherty, whose day job is acting, told the news outlet that she didn’t even know how to generate an image with AI, and that even ChatGPT has been an enigma for her.
The contest’s owners have now acknowledged their mistake after the photographer confirmed with them that the image was taken from her phone camera. Unfortunately, she is no longer eligible for the AU$500 (US$336) prize as they have tossed out her entry.
In a new Instagram post, they note that the store’s owner has had “a good chat” with the participant, and that “all is well.”
“We can’t thank [Dougherty] enough for her gracious response with us,” says the team.
They reiterate that the oversight proves “what a difficult time ahead we all face, especially in the arena of images—to which most of our customers rely on as their source of income.”
With that, they have waived her entry fee and are hoping she will try again for their next round.
Dougherty might be taking up the offer, and she jokes that since she’s been refunded “I probably will [join again]—just for fun.”
[via PetaPixel and The Guardian, images via various sources]
