Artificial intelligence is capable of generating images of the Pope with a down jacket or of Emmanuel Macron as a garbage collector. But also shots capable of winning prestigious photography awards. It is the case of Pseudomnesia: The Electrician, work of the German artist Boris Eldagsen. This photograph, a black-and-white portrait of two women, won the “Creation” award at the 2023 Sony World Photography Award last week.
However, this shot was not taken by a camera but was largely generated by artificial intelligence, BBC News reports. Boris Eldagsen, who explained that he submitted this image to test the seriousness of the contest and stimulate a debate about the future of photography, declined the prize after revealing the nature of the author of his work.
“I will not accept this price”
The artist, who portrays himself as a “cheeky monkey” and thanks the jury for selecting his photo making this event “a historic moment”, also says that he wants to accelerate with his initiative “the process of raising awareness of this difference by the prize organizers and create separate contests for AI-generated images.”
He also explains that he wanted to let the whole world know that a jury, however prestigious it may be, is incapable of differentiating between an original photo and an image modeled by artificial intelligence.
According to CBS News, the German artist had previously explained to organizers that his work had been produced in collaboration with artificial intelligence. But he had not indicated to what extent he had used this tool, stresses a spokesman for the World Photography Organization. The use of artificial intelligence was not a problem because the category in which Boris Eldagsen’s work was competing accepted photographs produced in different ways.
In fact, “after our correspondence with Boris and the guarantees he gave us, we felt that his work met the criteria for this category and we encouraged him to participate,” continues the spokesperson for the World Photography Organization.
Source: BFM TV
