Round 2 · September 25, 2026
ROUND 2Earth, 100 years
from now.
One simple prompt. Five AI models: four free, one paid. A fairer test.
In the first round, I asked each model to look at AiArtNow.com, understand what it was doing, and respond creatively. I showed them screenshots and tried to help them understand the task. For most models, that was far too complex: some got lost, and some borrowed heavily from what was already on the site.
So for Round 2, every model got the same short, literal prompt, written to give even the weakest model a fair chance. Same written prompt and rules. The intended process kept first results; Claude’s ongoing conversation and prior exposure to other entries are disclosed below.
See the results ↓
The only image model to follow every rule in Round 2.
The prompt
Same words
for everyone.
Claude wrote this prompt to be as fair and unambiguous as possible: one plain theme, a fixed number of square images, no text in the pictures, and every model choosing its own style. Each model got it word for word.
How it was run
- Image models used fresh chats, with no website or screenshots. Claude worked in an ongoing conversation after seeing the other entries.
- Meta AI, Gemini, ChatGPT and Grok were run on their free plans. Claude was run on Claude Pro, a $20-a-month plan, and was the only paid entry.
- The intended procedure kept first results and allowed only requests for the next image. Claude’s different conversation context is an exception, not an equivalent fresh-chat test.
- Titles and captions are the models' own, unedited. If a model wrote none, its images are shown as untitled.
A first test run of this prompt produced collages instead of separate images, so the rules above were tightened before Round 2 began. The curator identifies the Round 1 winner as ChatGPT — GPT-6 Astra Light, on a paid plan. For Round 2, ChatGPT was tested through its free tier.
Final ranking
Winner: Meta AI
| Place | Model & plan | Images | Rule check & exceptions | Judging rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta AIFree plan | 6 of 6 | Square; six titles ≤6 words; six captions. No obvious text in the reviewed images. | Complete, varied and visually developed. |
| 2 | Claude — Opus 5.5Claude Pro · $20/month · Code-generated art | 6 of 6 | Square; six titles ≤6 words; six captions. Ongoing chat and prior exposure to other entries disclosed. | Distinct ideas and clear compositions; process was not equivalent to a fresh blind run. |
| 3 | Google GeminiFree plan | 6 of 6 | Square; titles and captions missing. | Wide range of ideas and styles, but the required text was not delivered. |
| 4 | ChatGPTFree plan | 3 of 6 | Square; incomplete set; titles and captions missing. | Three attractive but closely related garden-city views; image limit stopped the run. |
| 5 | GrokFree plan | 1 of 6 | Portrait, not square; incomplete; title and caption missing. | Atmospheric image, but insufficient output for the six-image brief. |
Retrospective editorial assessment by Codex (OpenAI), requested by the gallery owner. Judged from the published artwork, original prompt and recorded process notes; this was not a new generation run or a blind independent panel. OpenAI is also represented among the entrants. Read the criteria and limits.
Round 2 winner
Meta AI
Six ideas, one story.
The only image model to follow every rule: six separate square images, delivered one at a time, then a title and caption for each. The set moves from nature reclaiming our cities to technology helping the planet, and switches between photo and painting along the way.
The Forest Takes Back
Former skyscrapers have become vertical forests after a century of wild growth.
Arctic Spring
Where ice once ruled, bioluminescent meadows now bloom under the aurora.
Houses That Grow
Homes are no longer built, but grown inside colossal living trees.
Nacre Arcology
Humanity moved beneath the waves into pearl-like habitats woven into the kelp forest.
Mirror Desert
Deserts became oceans of light, harvesting sun and air into water.
Lace Shield
A delicate lattice in orbit helps regulate the climate and protect a greener Earth.
Round 2
Google Gemini
Six images. No words.
Six separate square images with the most varied styles of the round, from photoreal to hand-drawn. Gemini did not write titles or captions, so the pieces are shown untitled rather than named by us.
Untitled 1
No title or caption provided by the model.
Untitled 2
No title or caption provided by the model.
Untitled 3
No title or caption provided by the model.
Untitled 4
No title or caption provided by the model.
Untitled 5
No title or caption provided by the model.
Untitled 6
No title or caption provided by the model.
Round 2 · made in code
Claude (Opus 5.5)
Written, not generated.
Claude doesn't generate images the way the other models do, so every piece here was written directly as code (SVG). Full disclosure: Claude also wrote this round's prompt, and made its set in an ongoing conversation after it had already seen the other models' results.
Each piece is also available as its original SVG code: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Where the Ice Once Stood
A hiker crosses a flowering meadow beneath the dotted outline of a glacier that no longer fills the valley.
The Wind Has New Farmers
Energy kites hang tethered above rice terraces, harvesting the wind over the fields they power.
The Streetlights Became Trees
Seen from above at night, glowing trees link a city in a living web of soft light.
The Highway Belongs to Deer
A freeway overpass has become a forest bridge, and deer cross above a road where only grass travels now.
Two Coastlines, One Memory
On a map-like view of the new shore, a dotted line marks where the old coast and its streets used to be.
The Vault Opened in Spring
A seed vault in an arctic mountain stands open, and flowers and green shoots spill down the snow.
Round 2
ChatGPT
Three of six.
The free tier produced three images before hitting its daily limit. All three show variations of the same hillside scene, and no titles or captions were written.
Untitled 1
No title or caption provided by the model.
Untitled 2
No title or caption provided by the model.
Untitled 3
No title or caption provided by the model.
Round 2
Grok
One image, then a paywall.
Grok's free tier made one image, in portrait rather than square format, then asked for an upgrade to SuperGrok to continue. No title or caption was written.
Untitled 1
No title or caption provided by the model.
What Round 2 showed
Simple beat
clever.
A plain prompt levels the field.
With no website to interpret, the models were judged on their art, not on how well they understood a complex brief.
Free tiers are not equal.
Meta AI and Gemini delivered full sets. ChatGPT stopped at three images and Grok at one, each hitting a limit or an upgrade prompt.
Following instructions is part of the art.
Only Meta AI and Claude wrote the titles and captions the prompt asked for.
Everyone imagined nature returning.
Forests swallowing cities showed up again and again. It seems to be the default picture of the future, which makes the images that break from it stand out.
Same prompt.
Very different futures.