An AI-generated picture was awarded first place and a $300 prize in the digitally manipulated photography category of the Colorado State Fair – but should it really have won?

Winning first place, Jason M. Allen was awarded a blue ribbon in a digitally manipulated photography competition and receive a $300 prize. Allen’s “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial” was made using Midjourney, an AI tool that generates images using words and descriptions.

A debate sparked from this regarding whether AI created art was cheating and artists have taken to online to rant about AI taking good opportunities from human beings.

In my opinion, people will never be outdone by an AI that is limited to prompts and bound to have misunderstandings. Human creativity is more valuable and cannot be copied to AI art.

Though AI art can be used as a creative tool, it does not yet have the capabilities to outdo people’s dedication. It can still take the hard ability to create an image with only using a few words to an easier time frame.

It is not fair that the artist community now must worry whether their art will be outdone by a computer and a couple of sentences.