German photographer Boris Eldagsen sparked controversy by winning a photography award with an image generated by artificial intelligence. Upon being announced the winner of the contest, Eldagsen revealed that the work was an AI co-creation and refused the benefits of the prize.
The photographer was awarded at the World Photography Organization’s Sony World Photography Awards in the Creative category with the work entitled “The Electrician”. The image features two women in a portrait that simulates an old photograph.
Debate over AI-generated imagery
In recent months, AI programs that create images from text commands have attracted attention for their ability to produce complex results, of all styles and very quickly. Among these tools are names like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney.
Eldagsen declares that the submitted work was a co-creation with artificial intelligence, as he understands his role in the process as that of a director who gave instructions to the AI to edit and perfect the material until reaching the desired result.
“I boldly signed up to find out if competitions are ready for AI imagery input. They are not. We in the world of photography need an open discussion. A discussion of what we want to consider photography and what we don’t. Is the photography umbrella big enough to invite AI images in — or is that a mistake? With my refusal of the prize, I hope to accelerate this debate”, said the photographer.
In response, the World Photography Organization reported that “given Eldagsen’s actions and subsequent statement about deliberately attempting to mislead us and thereby invalidating the assurances he himself provided, we no longer feel that we are able to engage in a dialogue meaningful and constructive with it”.
Had he accepted the prize, Boris Eldagsen would have received US$5,000 in cash plus photographic equipment, as well as a book and an exhibition of his work.
“How many of you knew or suspected it was an AI generated image? Something about that doesn’t feel right, does it?” teased Boris. In fact, there are few resources to know if a photo was created by artificial intelligence while technology improves every day.
Source: PetaPixel
