German photographer-turned-AI-artist Boris Eldagsen recently won the Sony World Photography Award, but subsequently turned it down after revealing that his black-and-white portrait of two women was created by AI.
Eldagsen fooled the competition organizers with his digital creation entitled “Pseudomnesia: The Electrician." The haunting portrait depicts two women, one standing behind the other. However, the only thing more compelling than the work was his rejection of the award.
The Daily Mail reported that Eldagsen said that he rejected the award because “AI is not photography,” a discussion that has begun swirling around in the art world, specifically in the realm of photography. Eldagsen went on to say that he wanted to start a conversation about the role of AI in the realm of photography.
Though the World Photography Organization whined that they had been misled, Eldagsen was not bothered, saying: “I applied as a cheeky monkey, to find out if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter. They are not.”
“AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this. They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore I will not accept the award.”
Eldagsen, a 30-year veteran in photography, has made known that his goal is to reveal that the creative world is not equipped to draw a distinction between photography and artificial intelligence, per the report.
He continued: “We, the photo world, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we want to consider photography and what not to. Is the umbrella of photography large enough to invite AI images to enter – or would this be a mistake?”
“With my refusal of the award I hope to speed up this debate.”
However, Eldagsen is not the first one to drum up an AI rendition that ultimately fooled people and made them question what they were seeing. Someone recently created an AI-based image that showed the Pope in a puffer jacket, and there were a slew of photos that depicted Trump being arrested by the NYPD.
Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak have expressed misgivings about the rapid development of artificial intelligence, recently writing an open letter to The Future of Life Institute, calling for tech companies to put a temporary pause on the “dangerous race” to develop AI. The petition currently has 26224 signers.
The letter suggested that companies put a six-month pause on AI development, which they are hoping will be enough time to specifically assess the implications of the technology.
