A New Taipei City high school rescinded a top art prize for a student after Internet sleuths discovered that an image generation tool was used to create the award-winning entry.
Fu Hsin Trade and Arts School, a private school with a renowned commercial art program, held a teacher-student art show on March 25 and April 2 to celebrate the 67th anniversary of its founding.
The top award in the digital art category went to the creation by a student, surnamed Lin (林), titled: Danao Longgong (大鬧龍宮), a work that aroused suspicion from other contestants and Internet users that it might have been generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
Photo: Screen grab from Facebook page
The competition’s rules do not allow the use of image generators.
On Wednesday, a YouTuber known as Boss Kuma published a video on his channel discussing the ethics of AI art, in which he criticized the competition’s judges for failing to spot AI content.
The Monkey King character depicted in the piece had deformed hands and feet, anatomically incorrect thigh muscles, and weird textures in its hair and bandages, which are common signs of AI art, he said.
“This is not just an AI-generated picture but one that has not even been touched up. I do not know what the creator of this submission went to three years of art school for. So pathetic,” he said.
In a Facebook post on Sunday last week, Fu Hsin Trade and Arts School said that following an explanation by Lin and repeated examinations by teachers with a professional specializing in the subject, Lin admitted to misapplying AI.
“The student and his parents have apologized and the awards will be changed according to the scores of the submissions,” it said.
Reports that the whistle-blower has received a major demerit is incorrect, the school added.
New Taipei City Department of Education said that it would emphasize the need for experts on the judging panel of art competitions.
New guidelines and tools for detecting AI art should be used for art shows and competitions, it added.
Schools are additionally reminded of the importance of teacher-student communication and using positive reinforcement instead of punitive discipline, the department said.
Tunghai University College of Fine Arts and Creative Design director Hsu Ho-chieh (許和捷) said that educators in the field of commercial art and design should acknowledge the rise of AI and change the skills they teach students to use accordingly.
Solid training in basic skills, and an eye for aesthetics and innovation are as important as ever, since AI art generators cannot be used effectively if the creator is unable to see and correct mistakes, he said.
Copyright must be understood and respected, as AI use poses significant risks of infringement, he added.
Educational institutions should be careful in writing competition guidelines on tools and media to ensure students understand the assignment, National Taichung University of Education professor Lu Shih-yun (盧詩韻) said.
Schools should do a better job of integrating AI art as a tool in the creative process and re-evaluate their definition of art to include the utilization of new technology, she said, adding that the use of image generation tools should be accepted as an art form.
The point is not to prevent students from using AI to make art but to teach them how to use it correctly, National Chiayi University Department of Visual Art chair Hsieh Chih-chang (謝其昌) said.
Creators can and should make use of AI so long as the work they created is unique and distinctly theirs, he added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by