Photographer Refuses Award Reveals Image Was Created by AI

By Elena Gilbert On Apr 19, 2023

A photographer who confessed that AI created his prize-winning work has brought the appropriateness and utility of AI in photography into sharp relief. The unexpected disclosure also led to the artist’s refusal to accept the Sony World Photography Awards.

German photographer Boris Eldagsen won the Creative Category of the art competition with his entry, “The Electrician.” The photographer, however, declined to accept the award and said he wanted to see if contests were prepared for AI photos.

In a statement shared on his website, Eldagsen admitted he had been a “cheeky monkey,” thanking the judges for “selecting my image and making this a historic moment”, while questioning if any of them “knew or suspected that it was AI-generated.”

“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,” he said.

“We, the photo world, need an open discussion,” said Eldagsen.”A conversation about the things we want to and don’t want to consider photography. Is the photographic horizon broad enough to welcome AI photographs, or would this be a mistake?

Eldagsen advocated giving the cash prize to an Odesa, Ukraine-based photo festival, saying, “With my refusal of the award I hope to speed up this debate.”

The following report is similar to the one just presented:

A mournful black-and-white portrait of two women from different times may be seen in the image “The Electrician.” Because of the grainy sepia tone, it has a 1940s look. Eldagsen, who labels himself as a “photo-media artist” on his website, collaborated on creating the piece with an AI.

Pseudomnesia, Latin for “fake memory,” is the name of Eldagsen’s series from which “The Electrician” takes its name. According to Eldagsen’s website, he ran the images through 20 to 40 AI picture generators to create “fake memories of a past, that never existed, that no one photographed.”

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