Boris Eldagsen
Meta.Morf 2024 – [up]Loaded Bodies / Kjøpmannsgata Ung Kunst, / Conference April 19 / Curator: Zane Cerpina
Prompted Flesh: The imitation of human bodies in AI Images
“Prompted Flesh: AI Imaging and the Era of Uploaded Bodies” delves into the transformative landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) imaging, focusing on its capacity to generate images through text and image prompts, the proliferation of deep fakes, and the emergence of mutated bodies. As technology advances, these developments not only challenge traditional notions of representation but also raise profound ethical and societal implications.
AI algorithms are prompted with textual or visual inputs to generate hyper-realistic images that transcend the boundaries of conventional imagination. Through the synthesis of language and imagery, individuals can effectively create personas that blur the lines between reality and simulation. Does this change gender or sexuality?
Mutated bodies have been a side product of AI images since its early days. Does the generation of bodies that have been distorted or manipulated to embody fantastical or grotesque forms challenge our ideas of beauty?.
And what about truth? The lecture explores the proliferation of deep fakes – AI-generated media that convincingly depict individuals engaging in activities they never actually participated in. From political propaganda to revenge porn, deep fakes pose a significant threat to the integrity of digital identities and the veracity of online discourse, undermining trust, and perpetuating misinformation on a global scale. Will we lose the control over our own bodies?
Together, we’ll dive into these thought-provoking questions and follow a technical revolution that outpaces our understanding of it.
Boris Eldagsen (DE) studied fine arts at the art academies of Mainz, Prague, and the University of Hyderabad (India) – as well as philosophy at the universities of Cologne and Mainz.
As a photo-media artist, he has exhibited in institutions and festivals since 2000, including Fridericianum Kassel, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, CCP Melbourne, ACP Sydney, EMAF Osnabrück, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, FORMAT Festival Derby, Singapore International Photography Festival, Chobi Mela Dhaka, Noorderlicht Groningen, Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth and Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Since 2004 he has been teaching at international art colleges (Victorian College of the Arts Melbourne, Photography Studies College Melbourne, NTU Singapore, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute Dhaka, Akademie für Bildende Künste Mainz, Hochschule Furtwangen and Escola d’Art i Superior de Disseny) and gives workshops for the Goethe Institute, festivals and museums (Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Westlicht Wien, Australian Centre for Photography Sydney a.o.).
Boris is the “head of Digital” at the German Photographic Academy (DFA) and digital advisor to Roger Ballen.
His background as a university lecturer, photo artist and digital media freelancer makes him one of the AI experts in the German photography scene.
In April 2023 he refused the Sony World Photography Awards (Open category / Creative), admitting that he applied with an AI-generated image to test if photo competitions and initiate a debate about the relationship between AI-generated images and photography. His stunt became worldwide news and his image “THE ELECTRICIAN” one of the most famous of the year.
eldagsen.com | ww.promptwhispering.ai
Header graphics: Boris Eldagsen – Devolution, courtesy of the artist. Portrait Photo: Jan Sobottka