I get it, this is a private event by a private company and they have the right to set whatever rules they want
But why stop at the arbitrary cutoff at AI which practically is 5-ish year old technology
Why not go full luddite and require art to be created the way it was 100 years ago?
There were special effects in movies 100 years ago. Just watch Charlie Chaplin movies or Metropolis
Books were typed on mechanical typewriters. None of them digital or even electric typewriters or spellcheckers.
Photographs were created on chemical film. You want to change something - you grab scissors.
But no, these artists take advantage of most of modern digital technology but hypocritically object to others using slightly newer technology.