German artist refuses Sony photography award, admits prize-winning image AI-generated, because...

A Germany-based artist has refused a much-coveted photography award after admitting he generated the prize-winning image using artificial intelligence (AI). Boris Eldagsen said on his website that he was not accepting the prize he had won for the 'creative open' category at the Sony world photography awards held last week.

The image showed two women from different generations in black and white.

“Thank you for selecting my image and making this a historic moment, as it is the first AI-generated image to win in a prestigious international PHOTOGRAPHY competition.

"How many of you knew or suspected that it was AI generated? Something about this doesn’t feel right, does it? 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 said.

Eldagsen said that he applied as a "cheeky monkey" to find out if the competitions were prepared for AI images to enter, adding they are not.

"We, the photo world, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we want to consider photography and what not. 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," the German artist said.

Eldagsen suggested donating the prize to the foto-festival in Odesa in war-torn Ukraine.

His refusal and admission come amid an increasing debate on AI.

According to a report by The Guardian on Monday (April 17), a spokesperson for the World Photography Organisation said that Eldagsen confirmed the co-creation of the image using AI to them before he was announced as the winner.

“In our correspondence, he (Eldagsen) explained how following ‘two decades of photography, my artistic focus has shifted more to exploring creative possibilities of AI generators’ and further emphasising the image heavily relies on his ‘wealth of photographic knowledge’.

"As per the rules of the competition, the photographers provide the warranties of their entry," the spokesperson said, as per the report.

The spokesperson said that the creative category of the open competition welcomed various experimental approaches to image making "from cyanotypes and rayographs to cutting-edge digital practices".

Following correspondence with Eldagsen, the organisation felt his entry fulfilled the criteria for this category and the organisation was supportive of his participation.

The spokesperson also said that now the German artist declined the award, the organisation suspended its activities with him. "Given his actions and subsequent statement noting his deliberate attempts at misleading us, and therefore invalidating the warranties he provided, we no longer feel we are able to engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him."

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