An AI-generated image just won a major international photography competition. Then the artist who submitted it turned down the prize.
It happened at the Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA), a prestigious contest backed by the camera giant. A piece titled "THE ELECTRICIAN"—a portrait of two women that looks convincingly real—took the top prize in the Creative category. The catch? It was created entirely by artificial intelligence, not a camera.
The artist, Berlin-based photo media artist Boris Eldagsen, submitted the work as part of a deliberate provocation. "I applied to find out if competitions are prepared for AI images. They are not," he later wrote. His goal was to force the photography world to confront a simple, divisive question: Is an AI-generated picture actually a photograph? (See: Alibaba's new Qwen3.6 model wants to be your AI coding partner)
The winning image that wasn't a photo
Eldagsen entered "THE ELECTRICIAN" into the SWPA's 2023 Creative category. At first glance, it's a stark, evocative black-and-white portrait. But it's a product of his ongoing series "PSEUDOMNESIA: Fake Memories", which uses AI to visualize "fake memories of a past that never existed, that was never photographed."
by Boris Eldagsen
The image made it through the jury's selection process and was ultimately crowned the category winner. When the award was announced, Eldagsen posted a nuanced reflection on his blog. He expressed gratitude for the win, detailing his 30-year history as a photographer before shifting his artistic focus to exploring "the creative possibilities of AI generators."
He described his AI work as a "co-creation," where he acts as a director—refining text prompts, developing complex workflows, and mixing platforms and techniques. "The more I build such a workflow and define the parameters, the more the creative part increases," he wrote.
But he drew a firm line. "I call my works 'images.' They are synthetically produced, using the visual language of 'photography,' but they are not 'photographs,'" he stated. His submission, he explained, was intended to "accelerate the process of the award organizers becoming aware of this difference and creating separate competitions for AI-generated images."
by Boris Eldagsen
The win sparked immediate debate. Many traditional photographers lamented that an image created without a camera or light could beat their work in a top-tier photo contest.
The refusal
A month later, on April 13, 2023, Eldagsen made his final move. In a new blog post, he formally refused the award.
"Thank you for selecting my image. How many of you knew or suspected it was AI-generated? Something 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-generated images are not photography. Therefore, I will not accept the award."
With that, he walked away from the $5,000 prize (about ¥670,000), Sony camera gear, and the global publicity from inclusion in a book and exhibition.
His reasoning was pointed. "The photography industry needs an open discussion," he argued. "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? I hope to accelerate this discussion by refusing the award."
The silent response
The organizers' response? Silence, followed by deletion. SWPA has issued no official statement on the matter. Instead, it quietly removed Eldagsen's image and name from the winners' gallery on its website.
The act of erasure speaks volumes. While the artist forced the conversation, the institution, for now, has chosen to pretend it never happened.