New Delhi: An Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated photograph has been awarded the first prize at the Sony World Photography Awards 2023, but the winner has said he will not accept it.
German artist Boris Aldugsen, creator of the AI image titled ‘Pseudomnesia: The Electrician’, thanked the jury for selecting his image, although he declined the award saying ‘something doesn’t feel right about it’ ‘
“Thank you for selecting my image and making it a historic moment as it is the first ever AI generated image to win a prestigious international photography contest. How many of you know or suspect that it was AI generated? Something doesn’t feel right about it, does it?,” said Eldugsen.
The Eldagsen AI image features a black-and-white image of two women from different generations that evoke melancholy. Arguing further for not accepting the award, Eldagsen stated that AI images and photography images are separate entities and therefore should not compete with each other.
He said, “AI images and photography should not compete with each other in this kind of award. They are different entities. AI is not photography. So I will not accept the award.”
Eldagsen said that a new debate is needed on society’s paradigm of ideal photography. He argued that there should be a clear distinction between what is called photography and what is not.
“I applied as a cheeky monkey to find out if competitions are open to the entry of AI images. They are not.
We, the photo world, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we do and do not want to consider photography. Is the scope of photography too wide to invite AI images to enter – or would this be a mistake? With the refusal of the award I hope to intensify this debate,” said Eldugsen.
Meanwhile, as the BBC reports, the organizers of the award claim that Eldagsen misled them about the degree to which AI applied.
Refuting the organisers’ claims, Eldagsen shared a detailed chronology of events on his blogpost where he stated how there was an obvious ‘communication problem’ within the organisers’ team and that many of his questions were ‘never asked’ in email communications over the past months . Answered by SWPA.
“… that you now want to give the impression that you wanted a dialogue, but I don’t. This is nonsense. It was only after I suggested for the third time that a public discussion was necessary that you offered me a Q&A on your blog. Awards be published before the ceremony – to which I happily said yes.”