A German artist sparked outrage after winning a prestigious photography award for an image created using artificial intelligence technology.
Boris Eldgesen indicated that he was clear from the outset about the nature of his work, and that he would not accept the award given to him at the Sony World Photography Awards, because similar competitions are not yet ready to deal with artificial intelligence technology.
The committee responsible for awarding the awards, in turn, stated that it was aware of the nature of the image, but accused the artist of “deliberate misleading”, which angered Eldgsson.
A large number of photographers and artists fear that artificial intelligence programs will threaten their livelihood, as it allows anyone to create beautiful images with just a click.
And the rapid popularity of artificial intelligence programs specializing in creating images began to cause lawsuits, after the tools were “trained” using a large amount of images, a large number of which may be protected by copyright.
In March, the organizers of the Sony World Photography Awards announced that Eldgson’s picture, which features two women, and titled “Sodomynia: The Ectration”, won in the category of creative works.
In interviews after his victory, Eldgsson explained how he accomplished the work, indicating that he wanted through this step to raise a discussion on the issue of artificial intelligence.
He wrote last week that “images created by artificial intelligence programs and those that are photographic should not compete in prizes like this,” and he subsequently refused the award awarded to him.
The awardees said they were looking forward to engaging the artist in a discussion about artificial intelligence, but withdrew the image “in line with his wishes”.
