Should AI Designs Be Allowed In Iowa State Fair’s Teeshirt Contest?

The debate over how far AI should go continues.

It can be tricky to figure out what pictures are AI-generated versus which ones were just taken with good lighting and a good camera.

The teeshirt competition from Iowa State Fair's Blue Ribbon Foundation has just announced it's winner for the 2026 fair teeshirt. But Iowa State Fair's share of the post of the designs submitted has all kinds of comments about AI "slop", voting for whichever design isn't AI, and comments slamming AI being allowed in the contest.

Chris Snider, and Associate Professor at Drake University who studies AI, told Des Moines Register that the teeshirt competition organizers likely didn't realize just how much AI can do and how controversial it is. He told the outlet:

To me, this is just a sign of the times. We're all very confused by AI right now, right? We don't know how to trust, what is and isn't AI...Any time it's tied to a business, people will judge the business or organization based on that. People have higher expectations for certain organizations than they do for the everyday person that's posting on social media...What if the little old lady who wins the pie-baking contest uses an AI recipe for her pie? Would we be outraged?

In their contest this year, the Iowa State Fair's Blue Ribbon Association didn't take AI into consideration but their website says they will review their rules before the 2027 contest.

Here were the top 3 designs, including the winner:

The Iowa State Fair is gearing up for a huge celebration particularly this year as it's America's 250th birthday.

It's August 13th-23rd this year.