The winner of the open creative category at the Sony World Photography Awards, an annual photography prize organized by the WPO (World Photography Organisation), declined the award. Unfortunately, Boris Eldagsen’s work called “Pseudomnesia: The Electrician” is an image created through AI (artificial intelligence). The information came through BBC Newswhere it was said that Boris deceived the organizers of the awards in order to create a discussion about the future of photography.
Boris Eldagsen declares on his website that he was a “cheeky monkey” and thanks the judges for selecting his image, making the moment historic. He says he has doubts if some of the judges suspected or knew that the image was generated by AI (artificial intelligence). Boris’ image showed a black and white image of two women from different generations. The artist makes his intentions clear with his action and his vision by saying:
AI imagery and photography shouldn’t compete with each other for an award like this.
They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore, I will not accept the award.
World Organization of Phographography recognizes Boris as winner
A WPO spokesperson says they spoke with Boris before announcing he was the winner. During the conversation, Boris said that the winning “photo” was a “co-creation” of his image using AI. According to the artist, there was an interest from him in the “creative possibilities of AI imaging”, but he warns that “emphasizing the image strongly depends on your wealth of photographic knowledge”. The representative of the World Photography Organization says:
The creative category of the open competition welcomes a variety of experimental approaches to image creation, from cyanotypes and radiographs to cutting-edge digital practices.
As such, following our correspondence with Boris and the assurances he provided, we felt your entry met the criteria for this category and we support your entry.
Furthermore, we were eager to participate in further discussion on this topic and welcomed Boris’ desire for dialogue by preparing questions for a dedicated Q&A session with him on our website.
As he decided to refuse his prize, we suspended our activities with him and, in accordance with his wishes, removed him from the competition.
The World Photography Organization says it recognizes “the importance of this subject (AI) and its impact on image creation today”, but emphasizes that the awards “always have been and will continue to be a platform to champion the excellence and skill of photographers and artists who work in the area.”
