The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which adds elements not taken by the photographer is not allowed in competitions run by the Toowoomba Photographic Society. The specific details around this are spelt our in our policy “Ethical Principles for Photographic Images” which members can access in the Club Information link on our website.
The specific information related to this issue is spelt out in the following paragraph:
“For all TPSI photography competitions and events, a photographic image and all elements within it must be the original work of the member captured using a film or digital camera or digital scanner. Images developed from written prompts in image creation programs (e.g., MidJourney, DALL-E, Adobe Photoshop Firefly, etc.) are not acceptable. Images edited using Generative AI or similar tools in programs such as Photoshop, Topaz Photo AI, etc, where pixels are added using written prompts, are not acceptable. TPSI reserves the right to disqualify an image if the photographic 1 integrity of a submitted entry cannot be adequately verified. Any post-production and editing of images must be the work of the TPSI member or guest.”
This issue can arise if members inadvertently use editing software which might use AI without them being aware of it. Jacky Lee PFIAP JAPJA who is chair of the Australian Photographic Society AI & Authorship Standards Subcommittee recently published an article (in the August edition of the APS eNews) related to this issue that all members should read. A copy of this has been uploaded to our website and can be accessed at here.
Ai is an every evolving technology which potentially will impact the images our members make and enter into competitions. It is important to carefully consider what editing software may be doing to your images. An issue that can arise is the addition of a AI-generated content notice on your images submitted for competition. Even if the majority of the photograph is authentic and real, using generative-fill style tools to erase objects or backgrounds embeds tracking data into the image file. Members need to be diligent in ensuring AI is not adding pixels to your images when editing them – that only existing pixels are used when using these tools.