Boris Eldagsen from Berlin won the open creative category at this year’s Sony World Photography Awards for “Pseudomnesia: The Electrician”.
The eerie black-and-white image shows two women of different generations – the older woman appears to be hugging the younger woman from behind.
Organizers said they were aware of some AI involvement, but said there had been “deliberate” attempts to mislead them.
Eldagsen said he hopes his actions will open up the conversation around the issue and lead to “separate contests of AI-generated images”.
“Thank you for choosing my image and making this a historic moment, as it is the first AI-generated image to win a prestigious international (sic) PHOTOGRAPHY. How many of you know or suspect that it’s AI-generated? There’s something about this that doesn’t feel right, doesn’t it?”
He continued: “Image AI and photography shouldn’t compete with each other for an award like this. They are different entities. AI is not photography. So I won’t accept the prize. “
He said he signed up “like a cheeky monkey” to find out if the contests “were prepared for AI images to enter. They weren’t.”
‘It’s not about winning’
Eldagsen told CNN on Tuesday: “It shows that at this point the world of photography has been taken by surprise after this development that you can create photos that look like photography in a subtle way. without the skill and expertise of photographers.”
He says AI has left many photographers feeling “threatened and scared that they’re going to lose their jobs, which is going to happen.”
Eldagsen said his aim was not to cause trouble but to open up an important conversation.
“It’s not about winning anything,” he said. “I just did a test to see if they knew – like a hacker attacking a system not to exploit it, but to see if there is any weakness.”
In other statements on his website, he said that he had informed the organizers of the AI’s involvement.
Organizers say 2023 is the year with the highest number of entries in the 16-year history of the award. More than 415,000 images were entered in this year’s contests, with more than 180,000 of them qualifying for the professional categories.
Three finalists, as well as five to seven shortlisted photographers, were selected in each category. The selected images were taken by photographers from more than 30 countries in locations ranging from an abandoned cement factory in China to a fish market in Somalia.
The statement is ‘misleading’
The World Photography Organization, which runs the competition, told CNN in a statement on Tuesday that, during the contest’s exchange with Eldagsen before announcing him as the category winner on Tuesday March 14, he confirmed the “co-creation” of this photo using AI. .
The open competition’s creative category welcomes a variety of experimental approaches to image creation from cyan and ray tracing to advanced digital methods, the organizers said.
“As such, after we corresponded with Boris and the assurances he provided, we feel that his entry meets the criteria for this category and we support participation. In addition, we look forward to engaging in a more in-depth discussion of this topic and welcome Boris’s desire for dialogue by preparing questions for a dedicated Q&A session for him on our website.
“Is him [Eldagsen] have now decided to decline his prize, we have suspended our activities with him and in accordance with his wishes we have disqualified him from the competition. Given his subsequent actions and statements indicating his willful efforts to mislead us and thereby void the warranties he makes, we no longer feel I feel like I can engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him, too.”
The statement said organizers recognized “the importance of this topic and its impact on image making today.”
The World Photography Organization added: “While elements of AI practice are relevant in the photographic arts scene, the award has always been and will continue to be a platform to celebrate excellence and skill. skills of photographers and artists working in the field”.
Top image: Boris Eldagsen’s AI-generated image titled ‘Pseudomnesia: The Electrician’ was submitted to the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 and won first prize in the open creative category.
