The AI-generated image won an award in the prestigious competition. The artist took the stage and declined the honor, inviting colleagues to open a debate on the use of AI.
The art generated by artificial intelligence has forcefully entered our lives in recent months and has also appeared in the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 edition, generating a real twist and aftermath of controversy.
One of the photographers awarded in the Open section, Boris Eldagsen, actually took the stage at a certain point and in a polemical tone refused his award, confessing that his work was not the result of a photographic shot, but it was instead created using generative artificial intelligence:
«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 generated by artificial intelligence? Something about this doesn’t feel right, does it? AI images and photography shouldn’t be competing with each other in an award like this. They are different entities. Artificial intelligence is not photography. Therefore, I will not accept the award».
The photographer invited the jury to pay greater attention in this period in which it will be increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from images created using artificial intelligence.
The award-winning photo, named The Electrician by its owner, managed to place first in the "Creative" category: the image is part of a series called PSEUDOMNSIA: Fake Memories, designed to evoke a photographic style reminiscent of the forties.
The artist, once ascertained that he had won, took the stage and refused the award, explaining why: «Artificial intelligence is not photography. I applied... to find out if the contests are prepared for the participation of AI images. I’m not".
Eldagsen also invited colleagues in the room to open a debate on the use of AI: «By my refusal of the prize, I hope to speed up this debate. Having been a photographer for 30 years before turning to artificial intelligence, I understand the pros and cons of this debate and will be happy to join the conversation".
The refusal of the award by the artist and his reasons make it clear that his goal was to raise awareness on the repercussions of the use of AI in the image sector, especially in photography.
Shortly after, the image was removed from the competition website and the organizers have yet to comment on what happened.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-04-19 08:00:00. Original title: Al Sony World Photography Awards vince una foto creata dall’IA: l’artista rifiuta il premio
