International AI Art Competition Enters Final Round

Finalists announced for AI Artathon, the international AI Art contest hosted by Saudi Arabia to showcase human-AI creativity

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ten finalists have been announced for AI Artathon, the first ever international AI Art competition held in Saudi Arabia.

The finalists were revealed during a livestream event to showcase artworks created by the competitors using artificial intelligence tools and techniques.

The three winning teams will be announced at the Global AI Summit on 22^nd October, where they will share a prize of US$133,000.

The AI Artathon is an initiative of the Global AI Summit, to highlight the creative potential of humans and machines working together to create innovative artworks.

Twenty teams made up of artists, graphic designers, AI experts and programmers, competed in this stage of the competition, after qualifying during a hackathon held in Riyadh in January.

Over 2,000 people from over 50 countries applied to participate in the hackathon, with 300 selected for the three-day event, where teams were formed to develop initial AI art concepts. Twenty teams were selected to take part in a bootcamp, where they were coached by experts in techniques for using machine learning algorithms and generative adversarial networks to create art.

The AI Artathon is organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), as part of the Global AI Summit, which takes place on 21-22 October as a virtual event, to connect key decision makers from government, academia, business and technology, to discuss global issues and challenges around AI and how AI can shape the new normal.

His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Bin Sharaf Al-Ghamdi, President of SDAIA, and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Global AI Summit, said: “SDAIA is proud to see the quality of the artworks that have been created by the finalists of the AI Artathon. Even though the competition was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, I was very pleased to see the way that the competitors came together in the spirit of the Global AI Summit, to show innovation and collaboration and utilize the capabilities of advanced AI to create these artworks. I look forward to announcing the final winners during the AI Summit.”

More information on the teams and pictures of the artwork are available here: Link