Midjourney AI

By Alex Yu

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 October 2023

The Photographic Society of America has implemented a heavy-hand policy against AI-generated images. Under these new regulations, any work submitted for competitions or exhibitions must exclusively comprise components sourced from genuine photographs taken by the contestants. Violators who employ AI to generate all or part of an image will face a suspension from the association's activities lasting three to five years. However, I think the policy is overly constrictive and could impede creative expression. In the realm of the philosophy of art, the boundaries between truth and falsehood are not dichotomous; rather, they exist along a continuum. In reality, AI systems allow individuals to upload their own photos and then manipulate them or synthesize new images from multiple photographs. Consequently, an AI-generated image does not materialize out of thin air; rather, it could be derived from the photographer's own photographic material.