An A.I. Beat Human Artists in a Competition. Will It Come for Their Jobs Next?

Last month, a piece of art called Théâtre D'opéra Spatial (that's French for "Space Opera Theater") was entered into the Colorado State Fair's fine art competition by a man named Jason Allen. The piece is a gorgeous "painting" that depicts a giant baroque hall containing three women in flowing red and white robes. The image won first place in the digitally manipulated photography category, and the artist judges at the state fair said the work was the best of the best. At the fair, Allen said the piece was made with Midjourney, an artificial intelligence tool that can create art, but no one really understood what that meant. Once they realized an A.I.-generated piece of art had beaten human artist-created images, a debate opened up.