After an art contest a few months ago, a photography contest was recently won with the assistance of an artificial intelligence (AI) program. Last March, German photographer Boris Eldagsen won first prize in one of the Sony World Photography Awards categories with his black and white photo (below) Pseudomnesia / The Electrician.
We must discuss
A week after the announcement of this victory, Eldagsen refused the prize, explaining a more philosophical than artistic approach: "I presented myself as a clever monkey, to find out if the contests are ready to accept images of AI. It is not, he said. We, the photography world, need an open discussion. A discussion of what we want to consider photography and what is not. Is the world of photography large enough to invite AI images into it, or would that be a mistake? ”.
A blow for nothing?
Note that after the event, the competition organizers apparently lacked responsiveness and openness to Eldagsen's positioning, causing some frustration: "They had so many options to use this for beneficial. They didn't use any, the photographer added. Instead, they refused to answer my questions, those of the press, and those of concerned photographers. So stop saying "we were eager to engage in a more in-depth discussion on this topic". It's wrong ".
