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AI poster wins Ohio State Fair contest

ohiostatefair.com

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Re: AI poster wins Ohio State Fair contest

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theres a strange element of shamelessness to it, though I also think theres (sometimes) another of adoption/novelty. To you or I, steeped in the internet and hacker news culture, its pretty clear that sharing AI work as your own is a transgression; an inherently rude act. Its even impolite to share ai output in general, unless the discussion calls for it. I think some people I see out in the world doing it are still…

Mindset is: 1. Can I benefit from it? A Yes -> Do it B No -> Don't do it Variable: What is the risk of getting caught and is it worth risking? Many or most people operate on this programming, AI or no AI.

> most people

I'm aware that social trust in some places is lower than others (and that im lucky enough to live in a place with high social trust), but I really don't think this is true. Though ruthless optimisers do exist, my experience suggests the idea that most people do this is laughable. I'd guess 1% or thereabouts. I think most people are kinda bumbling along on autopilot trying to make people happy and avoid others getting too mad at them without expending too much effort(not the same as minimizing effort) + without deviating too much from their routine.

Meditate a while, if you will, on the results of this poll: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0njd4e2evo

I met a few of the ruthless optimiser types back when I was in the startup world. They aren't too bad if you can keep them at arms length, predictable in their own way. But if they get some power over you or you have to spend a lot of time with them it can quickly become miserable.

Re: AI poster wins Ohio State Fair contest

#44

I just drove through rural Washington and Idaho and saw similar style flyers on all the boards at grocery stores and local businesses. Saw some AI image stickers for sale at an espresso stand in Idaho. USA 250 AI stuff all over northern Idaho. AI flags. Funny stuff. Love it

New storefronts with AI logos, food with AI caricatures of the chef, small taxi companies with GPT’s handiwork wrapped right over the doors…

Re: AI poster wins Ohio State Fair contest

#45
post #5

The poster: https://cdn.saffire.com/images.ashx?t=ig&rid=OhioStateFair&i... Note the pigs are numbered 1, 2, 1. And the gondola with a floating cable and another that terminates at a tent top.

or just look at the faceless and weirdly misshapen 'people' in the crowd. Genuinely who was judging this? Also I'm pretty sure Ohio isn't 250 years old, this is just crazy

Re: AI poster wins Ohio State Fair contest

#46
post #8

extremely noticeably so, too. A shame that the judges arent equipped to notice this sort of thing: the winning entry is pretty clearly the sort of result you get with a first naive attempt of "make a poster" with no style guidelines at all.

It is very noticeable. Funny how it jumps right out when you've seen AI slop often enough. #5 is good and looks "real", whatever that means any more.

#5 was real winner of those shown. Rest weren’t as captivating as the sloppy grand prize poster.

Re: AI poster wins Ohio State Fair contest

#47

I think this is the actual image: https://cdn.saffire.com/images.ashx?t=ig&rid=OhioStateFair&i... Notably, the zipline is all wacky, and two piggies are #1, probably more things I didn't notice at a skim? I guess they didn't explicitly forbid AI, and it wasn't noticed until after the winner was selected, and now you can't "roll back"? It seems this was later added to the page: > [...] we recognize that the use of AI…

> they didn't explicitly forbid AI Yes they did; the contestants must be at least 18 years old and residents of Ohio. AI is neither. Would it be within contest rules if an 19-year-old resident of Ohio served as an artistic director, giving suggestions to a 12-year-old from Kentucky who does the actual work?

No they didn’t—from TFA:

  When the poster contest was originally formed in 2024, the use of AI was permitted if explained as a part of the application process.
Since current US legal decisions indicate that genAI works are not copyrightable, this is troublesome for any organization that wants exclusive licensing for publicity. The State Fair would expect to incorporate their art winners into marketing, posters, and expect to strike down derivative works and other commercial uses.

Not to mention that any Ai-entrant piece could be duplicated by any other entrant.

Re: AI poster wins Ohio State Fair contest

#48

I think this is the actual image: https://cdn.saffire.com/images.ashx?t=ig&rid=OhioStateFair&i... Notably, the zipline is all wacky, and two piggies are #1, probably more things I didn't notice at a skim? I guess they didn't explicitly forbid AI, and it wasn't noticed until after the winner was selected, and now you can't "roll back"? It seems this was later added to the page: > [...] we recognize that the use of AI…

It immediately looks like AI slop because nearly every square inch is filled with with something, however meaningless and useless it might be to the overall composition.

AI is good at filling an image with shit, and bad at knowing when to leave space and what isn’t necessary.

Re: AI poster wins Ohio State Fair contest

#50
In the 1990s there was a backlash against Photoshop. Traditional artists and designers viewed Photoshop as "cheating," "not real art," and a threat to hand-made craft. This story [1] from 17 years ago called for a ban on airbrushed photos. Today use of Photoshop and airbrushing is standard practice, and it is expected. In time we will come to accept AI art too.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/sep/19/liberal-dem...

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