In April, German photographer Boris Eldagsen turned down the prestigious Sony world photography award in the creative open category because the image was created by artificial intelligence, a fact he didn’t reveal until after he won.
The reason for doing this, he says, was to see if competitions are prepared for AI images . Now, Eldagsen will get to test his own discernment as a judge in the world’s first competition for AI generated “photographic” images.. The overall winner of which will receive $1000. The nature of the works is being described as “promptography”, a term coined this year in the wake of Eldagsen’s win.
It’s an interesting twist on an art form that has previously required only visual skills. Directing an AI to create an image needs a vocabulary that describes not just the subject but the style, lighting, mood and palette . Eldagsen isn’t the only photographer to test whether human experts can spot an AI image. In February, an AI-created picture of a drone shot of a beach at sunset won the DigiDirect monthly photo competition. The creator was Sydney-based Absolutely Ai.
“We did it to prove we’re at a turning point with artificial technology”, Absolutely AI founder Jamie SimmonsEntries from aspiring promptographers for Prompted Peculiar close on September 15. The winners will be revealed on October 8.