An artist from Germany who admitted to employing artificial intelligence (AI) to create the prize-winning photograph turned down a highly desired photographic honor. On his website, Boris Eldagsen announced that he will not be accepting the trophy for the Sony World Photography Awards “creative open” category. Two women from various generations could be seen in the black-and-white image.
“Is the umbrella of photography large enough to invite AI images to enter – or would this be a mistake?”
“Thank you for selecting my image and making this a historic moment, as it is the first AI-generated image to win in a prestigious international PHOTOGRAPHY competition. “How many of you knew or suspected that it was AI generated? Something about this doesn’t feel right, does it? AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this. They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore I will not accept the award,” Eldagsen said.
Eldagsen said that he applied as a “cheeky monkey” to find out if the competitions were prepared for AI images to enter, adding they are not. “We, the photo world, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we want to consider photography and what not. Is the umbrella of photography large enough to invite AI images to enter – or would this be a mistake? With my refusal of the award I hope to speed up this debate,” the German artist said.
Eldagsen proposed giving the award to the war-torn Ukrainian city of Odesa’s photo festival. His denial and admission occur as the debate over AI heats up. A World Photography Organisation representative said that Eldagsen informed them before being named the winner that the photograph was jointly created using AI, The Guardian reported on Monday (April 17).
The German artist declined the award, the organization suspended its activities with him
“In our correspondence, he (Eldagsen) explained how following ‘two decades of photography, my artistic focus has shifted more to exploring creative possibilities of AI generators’ and further emphasizing the image heavily relies on his ‘wealth of photographic knowledge’. “As per the rules of the competition, the photographers provide the warranties of their entry,” the spokesperson said, as per the report. The spokesperson said that the creative category of the open competition welcomed various experimental approaches to image making “from cyanotypes and rayographs to cutting-edge digital practices”.
After speaking with Eldagsen, the organization decided that his entry met the requirements for this category and approved his participation. The spokesperson also said that now the German artist declined the award, the organization suspended its activities with him. “Given his actions and subsequent statement noting his deliberate attempts at misleading us, and therefore invalidating the warranties he provided, we no longer feel we are able to engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him.”
