Astray’s entry – which won third place in the category and the People’s Vote award – was disqualified after the photographer revealed the truth. However, Astray told The Washington Post that “FLAMINGONE” fulfilled its mission: to send a moving message to a world struggling with powerful, increasingly advanced technology and the profusion of false images it brings.
“My goal was to show that nature is so fantastic and creative, and I don’t think any machine can surpass that,” Astray told the Post. “But on the other hand, AI images have advanced to a point where they are indistinguishable from real photography. So where does this leave us? What are the implications and pitfalls of this? I think it’s a really important conversation we need to have right now.”
When it comes to AI-generated photos, a lot of attention has been paid to their bizarre results: the Pope dressed in a Balenciaga-style jacket, a melt-faced Elon Musk sunbathing on Mars, a flood of people with too many or too many teeth. fingers. However, technology has also allowed the proliferation of deepfakes – images that could be used for more nefarious purposes, such as overturning elections or spreading disinformation. In creative circles, it has sparked debates about job security and fair pay. It all resulted in worldwide calls to regulate the technology.
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In Astray’s opinion: “Technology itself is not inherently good or bad. It’s how we apply it, right? So I think we really need to move forward on this now; otherwise, it will be very difficult to achieve it.”
This is partly what led Astray to engage in some stunts, inspired by similar stunts in recent years. But these other cases involved AI-generated images that won photography awards – “that’s why I approached it from the other side.”
For about two years, the 38-year-old traveling photographer reflected on the “surreal photo of an already surreal-looking type of bird” he had taken on a pristine beach off the coast of Aruba. On that sunny day, Astray left around 5am on the first boat bound for a small island known for its flock of flamingos, hoping to beat the crowds. When he got there, he spotted a bright pink bird “doing its morning routine” and cleaning its feathers, he said. The “very lucky shot” captured the flamingo’s scratch in the middle of its belly.
In recent years, he thought the funny-looking bird might be the perfect medium for his protest against AI, “but there haven’t been many competitions with the category.” The opportunity came late last year when Creative Resource Collective asked him if he would like to participate in the 1839 Awards Color Photography Contest, which is judged by a range of industry experts from the Center Pompidou, the New York Times and Getty Images, among others. others.
“I felt bad for tricking them,” Astray said, adding that he revealed to Creative Resource Collective that the image was not AI-generated when the organization emailed him to inform him that he had won. “And needless to say, they made the right decision in disqualifying me out of fairness to the other entrants in that category who submitted real AI images.”
In a statement to The Post, Lily Fierman, director of the Creative Resource Collective, said that while the organization fully appreciates the “powerful message Miles conveyed with his submission,” it decided to disqualify him because Astray’s image did not meet the requirements of the category.
The autonomous AI category, the first in the contest’s history, Fierman said, “was intended to be a space for artists working in this new medium. For example, we didn’t want people traveling to the ends of the Earth to capture incredible animals or landscapes to compete with AI.”
However, she added, “we hope this raises awareness (and sends a message of hope) to other photographers who are concerned about AI.” Now, Fierman added, Creative Resource Collective is working with Astray to publish a blog post on the topic. “As an artist, his voice will make a difference in this conversation,” she said.
Astray, whose work focuses on “capturing the world as it is,” said she didn’t expect this positive reaction — nor the hundreds of “hilarious, thoughtful and heartfelt comments” she received on social media.
“These are all human qualities that AI will never be able to replicate or relate to,” he said. “I think this is beautiful and it’s part of the message I initially wanted to send. In fact, all of this combined It is the message.”
