Last year, Boris Eldagsen raised awareness of AI photography by winning the prestigious Sony World Photography Award in the creative open category with his computer-generated image. The German's winning photo, Pseudomnesia: The Electrician, depicts two women of different ages in a retro style of black and white. After Eldagsen revealed that the photo was AI-generated, he declined to accept the award and said he wanted to have a discussion about what is considered photography and what is not.
This event inspired Akkara Naktamna, a photographer and curator, to create the exhibition "Photography Never Lies" to showcase how advanced technology has created many new possibilities and ask, how much can we believe of what we see? As a photographer, Akkara considers AI a tool since he also uses it to create art. "In the past, artists created pictures from paintbrush and canvas. The invention of the camera was revolutionary, but cameras still rely on light to create photos.
AI is a tool that does not rely on light," said Akkara. A collection of AI-generated images by Eldagsen is on display at the entrance of the exhibition. Akkara pointed out that during its early years, AI could not create five fingers for one hand.
The photographs showed only four fingers on one hand. However, technology has developed rapidly and currently, it is difficult to differentiate AI-generated images from photos taken by humans. Therefore, aside from showcasing photos created by AI technology, the exhibition.