Call for images: Reclaiming and Recentering the History of Diversity in AI Education at the University of Cambridge
Cambridge and LCFI researchers have played key roles in identifying how current stock images of AI can perpetuate negative gender and racial stereotypes about the creators, users, and beneficiaries of AI. Following on from this, a project has been set up to increase the visible diversity of the images used to represent AI teaching and events programs in Cambridge.
The first phase of the project was to commission exciting collage artist and emerging technologies scholar Hanna Bakarat to provide a set of images, drawing on her work of researching AI narratives to uncover and reclaim diverse histories.
We’re now delighted to collaborate to open up the challenge and to invite public submissions of ‘stock quality’ images by the 30th of December 2024 (11:59PM UTC). The competition can be entered by the University of Cambridge (UK) community, but also anyone who wishes to contribute to improving narratives about how teaching and learning about AI related fields can be conceptualised.
The recent release of the new Archival Images of AI Playbook means that even those with no artistic or design background can have a go, or existing designers and art students can bring their own ideas and add to making more inclusive and less exclusionary images.
In addition to our thanks for adding to the visual discourse, University of Cambridge have made. available a couple of prizes:
First Prize: £250
Commendation Prize: £100
Entries will be judged by representatives of Better Images of AI, LFCI and University of Cambridge.
Further Information
The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence and the University Diversity Fund want to increase the diversity of the images that are used to represent AI-related teaching and event programmes in the University of Cambridge.
The entries will be judged on the following criteria:
- How the images reflect the brief: ‘reclaiming and recentering the history of diversity in AI education in the University of Cambridge’
- The inclusion of creative or surprising elements in the image
- The appropriateness of the image to be used for teaching and events
- The forms of representation included in the image
- Aesthetic quality
Visual Guidelines
Please read the Guide to making Better Images of AI to see what tropes to avoid and what might make a good representation related to AI.
Image uses
These include images used for outward-facing posting on social media, University of Cambridge websites, internal communications on student sites and Virtual Learning Environments. They will also be made available for wider Cambridge programs to use for their teaching and events materials. Those agreed will also be added to the Better Images of AI website on a Creative Commons licence with artist attribution and available for wider public download.
Licences
You can use any techniques and source materials that work for your vision. However, all materials need to have the correct license for use and you need to have full ownership of the end product, so we recommend using images from the Creative Commons Portal with a ‘free to be used and remixed’ license’.
Privacy
Please also ensure to anonymise people if they are featured in images.
Techniques / style
Any techniques and approaches are welcome as long as they result in high quality digital images. This can include digital art, photography, collage, illustration and also invite artists to use different image techniques using the Archival Images of AI Playbook. We do have specifications around the use of AI image generators, see below.
AI generated Art
Although inclusion in the Better Images of AI library is not necessarily essential for the winning entry, the library will only accept submissions which use Adobe Firefly (which uses consented images, compensates artists and labels as AI generated), with licensed or original images as visual prompts.
Format
Entries must be in a .png file and submitted to info@betterimagesofai.org. The winning entries will be made available for open access use under a creative comms non-profit licence through the University of Cambridge, and ideally also in the Better Images of AI library. Entrants may also be contacted to include their image in the open-access collection with honourable mention.
Key dates
Competition opens: 9th of December 2024 (9:00AM UTC)
Competition closes: 30th December 2024 (11:59PM UTC)
Decisions of winners announced: January 2025
Further Information
Please contact info@betterimagesofai.org.
