The creator refused the prize.
The Sony World Photography Awards announced the competition's winners, and one of them turned out to be AI-made. According to The Guardian, photographer Boris Eldagsen admitted that he "applied as a cheeky monkey" to see if competitions are prepared for AI images to enter the race.
Eldagsen's machine-generated image managed to win, but the artist refused to take the prize. To him, this move was meant to start a discussion about what photography is and if it should accept AI art.
“We, the photo world, need an open discussion,” said Eldagsen. “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.”
"AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this," he added. "They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore I will not accept the award." He then suggested donating the award to a photo festival in Odesa, Ukraine.
The World Photography Organisation claims Eldagsen warned it that he "co-created" the picture using AI, and the company was fine with accepting the entry as an experimental approach. However, the photographer himself says the company didn't know the photo was fake:
"Also, pretending that you knew the picture was AI is wrong. I told one of your assistants in length, but then after the press release your PR executive contacted me, being surprised about all the inquiries regarding my image and asking for more info."
Now, there seems to be a heated debate happening. You can find the order of events from Eldagsen's standpoint here.
This is not the first time AI-made art got an award. In September, the internet was buzzing talking about Jason Allen winning Colorado State Fair's fine art competition.
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