Winner of Sony World Photography Award refuses his prize after revealing portrait was created by AI

A German artist who won the Sony World Photography Award refused to accept his prize after revealing that his black and white portrait of two women was in fact created by AI.

Boris Eldagsen tricked the contest organizers with his entry, Pseudomnesia: The Electrician – a haunting close-up of two women in grainy sepia that won the creative open category last week.

He stunned the organizers by declining the award, claiming that “AI is not photography” – because he hopes to spark a discussion about the future of art.

The World Photography Organization, which administers the Sony awards, told MailOnline that they were deliberately misled by Eldagsen about the extent to which AI would be involved.

In a statement on his website, Eldagsen, 52, described this as a “historic moment” and added: “I’ve signed up like a cheeky monkey, to find out if the matches are prepared for AI imagery to compete with.” doing. They are not.

“AI images and photography should not compete in a price like this. They are different entities. AI is not photography. That’s why I’m not accepting the prize.’

Eldagsen, who has been a photographer for 30 years before turning to AI, hopes his disapproval of the award at London’s Somerset House can spark a debate.

He added: ‘We, the photography world, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we want to understand by photography and what not. Is the umbrella of photography big enough to invite AI images to enter – or would this be a mistake?

“With my refusal of the prize, I hope to accelerate this debate.”

By the prestigious awards ceremony to reject the award, Eldagsen has again argued about the rapid development of AI.

Recent fake photos of the arrest of Donald Trump and the pope in a puffer jacket have raised concerns about the future of AI.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak are among those who have publicly expressed fears about the development of AI.

In an open letter to The Future of Life Institute, Musk and 100 others called for a pause in the “dangerous race” to develop AI, arguing that humanity does not yet know the full extent of the risk associated with it. promoting the technology.

They have asked all AI labs to halt development of their products for at least six months while more risk assessment is done.

Musk and others fear that the technology will become so advanced that human intervention will no longer be needed or listened to.

Eldagsen (pictured), who has been a photographer for 30 years before turning to AI, hopes his rejection of the prize at London’s Somerset House can spark a debate

Recent fake photos of the arrest of Donald Trump (left) and the pope in a puffer jacket (right) have raised concerns about the future of AI

The World Photography Organization said they considered Eldagsen’s entry to be a ‘co-creation’ of his photo using AI that ‘met the criteria for this category’, adding: ‘We supported his participation ‘.

He noted that he was interested in “the creative possibilities of AI generators,” they added, while “emphasizing the image relies heavily on his wealth of photographic knowledge.”

A spokesperson added: ‘The Creative category of the Open competition welcomes different experimental approaches to image-making, from cyanotypes and rayographs to advanced digital practices.

‘As such, following our correspondence with Boris and the assurances he gave, we felt that his entry met the criteria for this category, and we supported his entry. In addition, we were looking forward to engaging in a more in-depth discussion on this topic and welcomed Boris’ desire for dialogue by preparing questions for a special Q&A with him for our website.

As he has now decided to reject his award, we have suspended our activities with him and in accordance with his wishes we have removed him from the competition.

“Given his actions and subsequent statement noting his deliberate attempts to mislead us thereby invalidating the assurances he gave, we feel we are no longer able to engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him. to go.

They continued, “We recognize the importance of this topic and its impact on contemporary imagery. We look forward to exploring this topic further through our various channels and programs and welcome the conversation around it.

“While elements of AI practices are relevant in the artistic context of image creation, the Awards have always been and will continue to be a platform for championing the excellence and skill of photographers and artists working in the medium.”