A German photographer has been refused a prestigious award after it was revealed that his winning photo was created using artificial intelligence.
Boris Eldgesen has been named winner in the Open Creativity category at the Sony World Photography Awards, with his black and white photograph Pseudomnesia/The Electrician. The photo shows a young woman standing in front of the camera with an older woman behind her.
However, one week after winning the award, Eldugesen got involved statement on their website Declaring that he “will not accept awards.”
“I applied as a cheeky monkey, to see if contests were set up for AI photo entries. They are not,” he wrote.
“We, the world of images, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we want to be considered photography and what is not. Is the umbrella of photography big enough to invite AI images to enter – or would that be a mistake?”
Eldugsen, who specializes in photography and the visual arts, said he “hopes to speed up that discussion” by declining the award.
He suggested that “If you don’t know what to do with the prize, please donate it to the fotofestival in Odessa, Ukraine”.
A spokesperson for the World Photography Organization said Eldhosen told them he had “participated” in creating the image using artificial intelligence before announcing the winner.
And they said: “According to the rules of the competition, the photographers give guarantees of their entry.” Watchman.
The Open Competition’s Creative category welcomes many experimental approaches to image making, from cyanotypes and radiography to cutting-edge digital practices. As such, after our correspondence with Boris and the assurances he gave, we felt his participation met the criteria for this category, and we were supportive of his participation.”
The WPO added that they “welcome Boris’s desire for dialogue”, but stopped working with him after he refused the award.
They said, “Given his actions and the subsequent statement indicating his deliberate attempts to mislead us, thereby nullifying the guarantees he gave, we no longer feel capable of engaging in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him.”
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