If you keep even half an eye on global mainstream news, you will have probably seen what has surely become the most famous piece of AI-generated imagery to date. ‘PSEUDOMNESIA | The Electrician’ was created or rather ‘prompted’ by German photo media artist Boris Eldagsen. The portrait (see it on his website) is, admittedly, a very beautiful image indeed, and the folks over at the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 obviously thought so too, because Boris’s entry won the 2023 Creative category. Here’s where things get really interesting – he declined to accept the award...
What’s ensued is a rather messy situation with conflicting narratives from the World Photography Organisation and Boris himself (there’s a detailed breakdown of events on his website and reports from numerous news outlets). But what matters is that an AI image, however knowingly or unknowingly, won a category in one of the most prestigious photography awards in the world.
