An AI-generated image won a prestigious photography competition: German artist Boris Eldagsen declined to accept the Sony world photography awards for his creative open category submission which he created using artificial intelligence, the Guardian reports. Eldagsen stated on his website he “applied as a cheeky monkey” and explained that his controversial move was an attempt to propel debates about artificial intelligence forward. One question he hoped to answer is whether “the umbrella of photography [is] large enough to invite AI images to enter — or would this be a mistake?”

No one seemed to notice…: Eldagsen sparked further controversy when he pointed to the fact that most people who viewed his image, titled “The Electrician,” did not realize it is AI-generated. The photograph, if we may call it so, is a compelling black and white image of two women. A closer examination, however, reveals that their fingers look quite distorted — a detail that appeared to go unnoticed. Eldagsen titled the series Pseudomnesia: A nod to the artificial nature of the photo, as pseudomnesia means fake memory.

…Which made things a little awkward: The World Photography Organization, which organizes the awards, issued a statement saying that Eldagsen has engaged in “deliberate attempts at misleading [the organization] therefore invalidating the warranties he provided” and putting an end to constructive dialogue, the Guardian reported. The organization, however, will continue to examine the impact of AI on the medium of photography.

Meanwhile, in the music industry: Streaming platforms removed “Heart on My Sleeve” — a song appearing to be performed by Drake and the Weeknd for “infringing content created with generative AI,” The Guardian reported separately. The hit — which went viral over the weekend with mns of views on Tiktok, Spotify, and Youtube — was generated with artificial intelligence using the artists’ vocals. Universal Music Group (UMG) spoke out against the falsification of art and stated there are two sides to this battle: “The side of artists, fans and human creative expression, [and] the side of deep fakes, fraud and denying artists their due compensation,” UMG told Billboard Magazine. This is not the first time AI has raised concerns over copyrights in the artistic world and looks like it’s just the beginning of unprecedented change.

The numerous ways we organize time: Ancient calendars still play a part in how we navigate the world today, according to a BBC reel released yesterday. From the lunar month to solar year, different civilizations and cultures across the world organize their years and months, differently. One such calendar dates back to 10k years ago and was discovered through pits dug in Scotland to emulate and mark the lunar cycle. The Mayas even used Venus as a reference to navigate through time.

Calendars have several purposes from better agricultural practices to administrative tasks and religious feasts. Although colonization has contributed to the enforcement of a universal dating system — the Gregorian calendar named after 16th Century Pope Gregory XIII — it is not the world’s only one. For instance, we may currently be in 2023, but we are also in 1444 according to Muslims’ hijri year. The Chinese new year is also another case in point of people using more than one system to move through the world.

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