A German photographer turned down a Sony World Photography Awards win with a photo generated by AI.
The photo in question, in the introduction to this article, is part of a series called by its author Boris Eldagsen ” PSEUDOMONIA: Fake Memories and presented itself as a way to denounce the fact that AI is not art (or in this case, photography).
Bad image in the world of photography
The image that won the ‘Creative Category’ award from the World Photography Organization during the Sony World Photography Awards was not even a photo taken by a camera. It was indeed an AI-assisted creation, as instructed by Boris Eldagsen.
The work was part of a larger collection aimed at evoking the photographic style of the forties, but in the form of ” false memories of the past, which never existed, which no one photographed “, as the artist indicates in his blog, quoted in source below.
” These images were imagined by language and re-edited between 20 and 40 times through AI-powered image generators. I entered this contest with this fake image to see if the competitions are ready for assisted works there. They are not “, he continues.
A new sign of resistance from artists against AI
By defiance, Boris Eldagsen therefore refused the distinction he received indirectly, because according to him, it is not his work, nor even a photograph. ” Thank you for selecting my image and making this award a historic moment “, he said ironically.
He theatrically concludes his blog post thus: “ How many of you detected that it was generated by AI? Something is off, don’t you think? AI hand images and photography should not be competing in an event like this. They are two different entities. AI is not photography. That’s why I won’t accept this price “.
After the scathing article was published, the controversial image was removed from the ceremony, without comment from the organizers. Boris Eldagsen then traveled to London to attend and went on stage (uninvited), to present his thoughts on the matter in public.
In any case, here is a new textbook case of artists’ resistance to AI-assisted works and the confusion they can generate, even among specialists. Remember that the subreddit r/Art had banned a work deemed to be created by an AI, when such was absolutely not the case.
Source : Boris Eldagsen
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