The World Press Photo contest has updated its entry rules to exclude the submission of ai-generated images. ai-image-win-old-version”>few days after announcing that said images could participate in their Open Format competition category. The World Press Photo Foundation initially said that welcome ai generated submissions – a decision that sparked immediate backlash from photojournalists who said allowing artificially created images to enter a contest for photojournalists responsible for documenting real-world events was “anathema to everything our industry does.”
The foundation since then ai-image-win-our-contest”>rolled back its new ai shipping guidance and contest rules updated to exclude ai-generated images from its open format category. “Thanks to honest and thoughtful feedback over the past few days, we’ve decided to change the rules for the Open Format category of our contest to exclude ai-generated images.” ai-image-win-our-contest”>said the World Press Photo Foundation in a statement posted on its website on Monday. “Both generative fill and fully generated images will be prohibited in the Open Format category (as was already the case in the other categories: Singles, Stories and Long-Term Projects).”
ai-generated images have never been eligible to be submitted to the prestigious World Press Photo competition of the year.
ai-generated images have never been eligible to be submitted to the prestigious World Press Photo competition of the year.
the rules for image manipulation of photographs “taken with a lens-based camera” have also been updated to provide greater clarity on what constitutes an ai-generated image. Light changes such as noise removal, automatic adjustments (e.g. in levels, colors, contrast) and object selection are listed as acceptable examples of ai editing tools, the scope of which will be decided by the competition organization and a global jury. Tools based on generative ai models that introduce new information to enlarge and enhance images, such as Adobe Super Resolution and Topaz Photo ai, are not permitted.
To help clarify what a photograph is in the age of ai, the World Press Photo Foundation has also helped develop a “set of clear ethical standards” along with photojournalism institutions, visual journalists and “editors with interest and experience in the subject.” Their goal is to ensure that photographs are “fair and accurate representations of what the photographer witnessed” and are not produced in a way that misleads the public.
ai is getting harder to ignore in cameras and image editing software
ai technology is increasingly being included in cameras and editing software, so it’s easy to understand why the World Press Photo Foundation is trying to tighten its submission guidelines. Many apps like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom feature ai-assisted editing tools designed to make life easier for photographers by automating boring and time-consuming tasks, like masking objects or refining hair details. And increasingly, ai is powering the imaging systems of modern smartphones, with Google’s new Magic Editor and Best Take features used to differentiate the Pixel 8.
