Cancel AI Images Claiming to be Photography?

Artificial Intelligence is growing at an exponential rate in this country. We have seen AI take over spaces previously unimaginable. With the recent creation of ChatGPT, this platform allows for people to interact with technology that engages in life-like conversations. It can answer almost any type of questions that you insert to the chat. This has been taking control over a variety of media platforms. One being Snapchat, they have recently added an AI “friend” to your contact list. One of the main concerns in the education world, is the ability for students to get their assignments done through Artificial Intelligence. However, we did not expect for artists to use Artificial Intelligence to complete their work, and then proceed to make it public!

Boris Eldagsen is a German artist who was recently nominated for an award-winning piece that left people in awe. Sony World Photography Awards consists of a creative open category, which Eldagsen’s work was nominated for. His photograph depicts two women, which we assume are showcasing two different generations. The two women are photographed in black and white, and look very similar to each other. Eldagsen claims to have created this photography to challenge the audience and competition, in a way to test whether we are ready for AI images to enter these spaces. Essentially for Eldagsen, this work was an experiment to identify whether competition is able to distinguish AI images from actual artwork.

However, a spokesperson from the Organization actually addressed the issue. They mentioned that they were aware of Boris Eldagsen’s methods to create the image, however, they allowed his work to continue being a nominee for they believed that it was still valid under the criteria. Stating that the category welcomes a wide variety of creativity, which would allow for Eldagsen’s work and supported his entry to competition.

Eldagsen actually rejected the award and expressed that as a society we should not accept AI generated pieces the same as photography; they should not compete against each other because they are completely different. Was Boris Eldagsen doing the right thing in not accepting the award? Should he have not submitted the AI image to the competition, even if it was to test the system? Was this okay because Eldagsen submitted the image ONLY to provoke debate? How many artists have tried this before and made some type of profit over an AI image which they claimed as original artwork? Should they have consequences for lying? Although Eldagsen didn’t accept the award, should he still have consequences for submitting a piece that was not his own? What will this do to our perception of art?

I think we should not allow AI images in competitions and we should not allow artists to claim these pieces as theirs if AI created it. I believe that this is detrimental to our view on art, creativity, and experiences. What do you think should happen?