"This doesn’t feel right, does it?": Photographer admits Sony prize-winning photo was AI generated
A German photographer is refusing an award for his prize-winning shot after admitting to being a “cheeky monkey”, revealing the image was generated using artificial intelligence.
The artist, Boris Eldagsen, shared on his website that he would not be accepting the prestigious award for the creative open category, which he won at 2023’s Sony world photography awards.
The winning photograph showcased a black and white image of two women from different generations.
Eldagsen, who studied photography and visual arts at the Art Academy of Mainz, conceptual art and intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, and fine art at the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication in Hyderabad released a statement on his website, admitting he “applied as a cheeky monkey” to find out if competitions would be prepared for AI images to enter. “They are not,” he revealed.
“We, the photo world, need an open discussion,” Eldagsen said.
“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.”
Eldagsen said this was an “historic moment” as it was the fist AI image to have won a prestigious international photography competition, adding “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.”
The photographer suggested donating the prize to a photo festival in Odesa, Ukraine.
It comes as a heated debate over the use and safety concerns of AI continue, with some going as far as to issue apocalyptic warnings that the technology may be close to causing irreparable damage to the human experience.
Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pirchai said, “It can be very harmful if deployed wrongly and we don’t have all the answers there yet – and the technology is moving fast. So, does that keep me up at night? Absolutely.”
A spokesperson for the World Photography Organisation admitted that the prize-winning photographer had confirmed the “co-creation” of the image using AI to them prior to winning the award.
“The creative category of the open competition welcomes various experimental approaches to image making from cyanotypes and rayographs to cutting-edge digital practices. As such, following our correspondence with Boris and the warranties he provided, we felt that his entry fulfilled the criteria for this category, and we were supportive of his participation.
“Additionally, we were looking forward to engaging in a more in-depth discussion on this topic and welcomed Boris’ wish for dialogue by preparing questions for a dedicated Q&A with him for our website.
“As he has now decided to decline his award we have suspended our activities with him and in keeping with his wishes have removed him from the competition. 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.
“We recognise the importance of this subject and its impact on image-making today. We look forward to further exploring this topic via our various channels and programmes and welcome the conversation around it. While elements of AI practices are relevant in artistic contexts of image-making, the awards always have been and will continue to be a platform for championing the excellence and skill of photographers and artists working in the medium.”
Image credit: Sony World Photography Awards