After admitting to being a "cheeky monkey" and creating a prize-winning image using artificial intelligence, a photographer has declined a major award.
The Sony World Photography Awards' creative open category winner, German artist Boris Eldagsen, said on his website that he would not be accepting the honor.
The winning image showed two women representing several generations in black and white.
Eldagsen, who studied fine art at the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication in Hyderabad and conceptual art and intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, said in a statement on his website that he "applied as a cheeky monkey" to see if competitions would be organized for AI images as well, he added and said, "they are not."
“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.”
He said this was a “historic moment” as it was the first time an AI image had won a prestigious international photography competition, adding: “How many of you knew or suspected that it was AI generated? Something about this doesn’t feel right, does it?
“AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this. They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore I will not accept the award.”
Eldagsen asked to donate the prize to a photo festival hosted in Odesa, Ukraine.
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