The story is funny, and the idea is brilliant. Faced with the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI), a photographer has just shown resistance by deciding to propose to a international AI-generated image competition an authentic photo. Berné, the jury awarded him a prize… Before disqualifying him when he finally admitted the truth!
On a pristine sandy beach stands a strange pink flamingo. Reduced to a simple ball placed on long legs, its body seems deprived of neck and head… But these are actually folded up and hidden, the bird with pop plumage probably being taking a nap.
Prove the power of nature
Titled Flamingonethis image was simply taken in nature, in Aruba, a small island in the Netherlands Antilles off the coast of Venezuela, without any trickery. But she seemed quite strange, refined and unreal to successfully pass yourself off as an entirely computer-generated creation!
“Creativity and emotion are not just a series of numbers. »
Miles Astray
Proposed by the photographer Miles Astray (born in 1986) in the category AI of the competition 1839 Photography Awards, the photo therefore won the first public prize (People’s Vote Award), as well as the third jury prize, awarded by a prestigious international jury composed, among others, of representatives of the New York Times, the Christie’s auction house, Getty Images, the Center Pompidou and the Phaidon publishing house. Which makes it the first real photo to win an artificial intelligence prize!
“I presented this photo to the jury in order to prove that content created by human hands had not lost its relevance, and that Mother Nature and her human interpreters could still beat the machine,” explains the photographer mischievously on its website. “Images generated by artificial intelligence are reshaping the digital landscape while sparking a burning debate regarding its impact on the future of artists, journalists, designers and other image creators. “Creativity and emotion are not just a series of numbers,” he adds.
Disqualified, the photographer is however praised for his action
“After seeing recent examples of AI-generated images beating real photos in competitions, I realized I could reverse the phenomenon, as only a human could and would do,” he explains. “Obviously, misleading the jury posed a ethical problem, which I did not take lightly. But I hoped that professionals and the public would find this AI blow and deception less ethically disturbing than deception generated by artificial intelligence.”
“Fraser Island Gallery” by Robyn Finlayson, Gold Medal of the “1839 Awards”, category IA2024
After revealing the true nature of Flamingone, the photographer was disqualified. But he had the nice surprise of receiving an e-mail from Lily Fierman, co-founder and director of the competition, telling him that she appreciated the “powerful message” that he had passed, and that she hoped that this action would create a “awareness” and gives “hope to the many photographers worried about AI”. Mission accomplished !
