Isang German artist ang biru-biruang sumali sa isang international photography contest hindi para manalo kundi para sa isang adbokasiya.
Siya si Boris Eldagsen, na nagsumite ng entry sa Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA), na “one of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions” sa nakalipas na 16 years, ayon sa website nito.
Ang intensiyon ni Boris kaya siya lumahok sa SWPA ay bunsod ng hamon ng mga eksperto na suriin ang pagkakaiba ng photograph at AI (artificial intelligence)-generated image.
Nanalo ang kanyang entry na Pseudomnesia: The Electrician para sa creative category.
Ang announcement of winners ay naganap sa isang gala sa London, United Kingdom noong April 13, 2023.
Tinanggihan ni Boris ang kanyang premyo.
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"I APPLIED AS A CHEEKY MONKEY"
Naglathala ng official statement si Eldagsen sa kanyang website kung saan nakadetalye ang pagsali niya sa kompetisyon.
Aniya, “I applied as a cheeky monkey, to find out, if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter. They are not.”
Bagamat malaki ang kanyang pasalamat sa nakuhang award, sinabi niyang hindi niya ito matatanggap dahil, “AI is not photography, therefore, I will not accept the award.”
Dagdag paliwanag ni Boris, “AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this. They are different entities,”
Sa isang bahagi ng kanyang pahayag, binigyan niya ng mas malalim na paliwanag ang tunay na motibo sa paglahok.
“We, the photo world, need an open discussion. 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.
“Having been a photographer for 30 years before I turned to AI, I understand the pros and cons of this debate and will be happy to join the conversation.”
Sa ilang website entries simula noong Marso 3, isang araw matapos niyang malaman mula sa Creo ang kanyang pagkapanalo, binanggit ni Boris ang kanyang suggestion na mag-facilitate ng open forum ang organisasyon “to discuss the chances and risks of AI image generators.”
Ngunit hindi raw ito pinansin ng Creo, na na-establish bilang World Photography Organisation noong 2007.
Ang Sony World Photography Awards ay kabilang sa kanilang mga flagship projects, kahanay ng Sony Future Filmmaker Awards, PHOTOFAIRS, at Photo London.
Sa huli, iminungkahi ni Eldagsen na i-donate na lamang ang kanyang premyo.
Sabi niya kay Boris, “If you dont know what to do with the prize, please donate it to the fotofestival in Odesa, Ukraine. I will happily provide you the contacts.”
THE AI CONTROVERSY
Gumawa ng ingay ang pagkapanalo ni Boris dahil sa mga lumabas na balitang sinadya itong gawin gamit ang AI technology.
Ayon kay Boris, nais niyang maging mapanuri ang mga eksperto sa pagkakaiba ng photography at “promptography,” ang suggested term ni Peruvian phoptographer Christian Vinces para sa mga larawang na-produce gamit hindi ang camera kundi ang iba pang medium, tulad ng AI technology.
Dagdag pa ni Boris, ito sana ay maging daan to “create separate competitions for AI-generated images.”
Noong April 18, 2023, matapos na mainit pinag-usapan ang entry at ang kalaunang pagtanggi sa award ni Boris, muling nagbigay ito ng malamang pahayag sa kanyang website.
Kopya ito ng kanyang sulat sa SWPA at sa Creo, published as is:
Dear SWPA / CREO,
that you now want to give the impression that you wanted a dialogue but i don’t is nonsense. Only after I suggested for the third time that a public discussion is necessary did you offer me a Q&A on your blog to be published before the award ceremony – which I happily said yes to.
I waited 22 days in vain for these questions.
Also, pretending that they you knew the picture was AI is wrong. I told one of your assistants in lenght, but then after the press release your PR executive contacted me, being suprised about all the inquiries regarding my image and asking for more info.
I think you have a communication problem in your team. And also a communication problem with the photo community.
Many of my questions in email communication over the last months have never been answered by SWPA.
Press enquiries about whether my image is AI have not been answered, instead they have been dismissed with a generic quote.
Enquiries from concerned photographers have never been answered. Enquiries from the non-English press about my rejection of the award were not answered.
It was only when the international photo community took up the issue on social media and discussed it so intensively that the Times and BBC inquired, that CREO stopped being silent.
They had so many options to use this for good. They used none of them. Instead they refused to answer my questions, the questions of the press, the questions of concerned photographers. So stop saying “we were looking forward to engaging in a more in-depth discussion on this topic” – it is wrong.
Samantala, nagbigay ng pahayag ang spokesperson ng Creo sa bbc.com.
Ayon dito, batid ng organisasyon na co-creation ng AI ang entry ni Boris.
“The creative category of the open competition welcomes various experimental approaches to image-making, from cyanotypes and rayographs to cutting-edge digital practices. As such, following our correspondence with Boris [Eldagsen] and the warranties he provided, we felt that his entry fulfilled the criteria for this category, and we were supportive of his participation.”
Dagdag pa nito, “As he has now decided to decline his award, we have suspended our activities with him, and, in keeping with his wishes, have removed him from the competition.”
As of April 14, 2023, inalis na ang inilahok na AI image ni Boris sa SWPA exhibition sa Somerset House sa London.