Boris Eldagsen

Boris Eldagsen – Philosopher, AI artist. Provocateur. Award refuser.

‘I do not accept this award!’ – With this sentence, Boris Eldagsen made international photography history in 2023 – as the first artist to publicly reject a prestigious photography award because the winning image had not been created by him, but by AI. The jury had not recognised this. The world did.

For some, he was a troublemaker. For others, he was the ‘poster boy of the AI debate’ (SZ), the ‘man who opened Pandora’s box’ (The Age). His image PSEUDOMNESIA | The Electrician became a global icon – ‘the photo that stopped the world’ (The Guardian).

Boris Eldagsen Keynote Topics

  • WILL IT BLEND? – The future of creative collaboration between humans and AI
    How we need to redistribute responsibility, intuition and decision-making between humans and machines
  • RIVALS – Photography vs. Promptography
    What AI-generated images can do – and where photography remains irreplaceable
  • DREAM UP YOUR MOVIE – How AI is already producing videos today
    Techniques, tools and strategic fields of application – for companies, agencies and creative professionals
  • MULTIMODALITY – Why AI makes us team players
    From individual disciplines to collective creativity – how working methods and role models are changing

Boris Eldagsen is not a speaker for the comfortable middle ground: He does not come to entertain – but to challenge, to provoke, to force people to think. Those who book him do not get buzzwords, but razor-sharp analyses. No well-tempered storytelling, but an imposition with an insight effect. No applause on autopilot, but friction with IQ.

What does Eldagsen do on stage?

  • He doesn’t provide answers, but thought processes.
  • He doesn’t want applause, but awareness.
  • He doesn’t deliver a keynote speech. He delivers friction.

He doesn’t speak to an audience that already knows everything – but to everyone who is ready to embrace new categories.

Ideal for:

  • Companies & conferences that prioritise relevance over rituals
  • Executives who don’t outsource thinking
  • Universities, media companies, think tanks that seek discourse instead of decoration

Who is Boris Eldagsen?

Boris Eldagsen (born 1970) is a philosopher, artist and AI thought leader with an unusual CV:

He studied fine arts and philosophy in Cologne, Mainz, Prague and Hyderabad. For two decades, he worked as a freelance strategist in digital marketing for agencies such as R/GA, MRM McCann, Saatchi & Saatchi, Scholz & Friends and Endemol Shine. At the same time, he taught creativity, idea development and AI at over 40 universities and Goethe Institutes worldwide – from Melbourne to Ludwigsburg to Dhaka.

Since 2022, he has been one of the most sought-after international experts on AI-generated images and videos, giving keynotes at TEDx, re:publica, Handelsblatt Centillion, Medientage München, World AI Conference Shanghai and C2 Montréal, among others.

He currently teaches ‘AI for Creatives’ at LABASAD – Barcelona School for Art & Design. He lives and works in Berlin.

You might find yourself saying afterwards:

“We didn’t want a feel-good speech – we wanted disruption. And that’s exactly what Boris delivered: crystal clear, uncomfortable, brilliant. After his presentation, our team was in intense thinking mode.”

‘Boris Eldagsen not only inspired us – he also unsettled us. And that was a good thing. His keynote was an intellectual rollercoaster ride, but with style and substance.’

‘Boris achieves what few can: he pushes the boundaries of thinking.’

‘Boris simply dismantled the usual speaker dramaturgy – no storytelling, no hero’s journey, no applause on demand. Instead: depth and intellectual fireworks.’

‘He was the most uncomfortable, but at the same time most relevant voice at our annual conference. His perspective on AI and creativity broke many thought patterns – and that’s exactly what we wanted.’

‘We were impressed: Boris combines artistic attitude with analytical acumen. He doesn’t talk about AI – he lives in discourse. Our audience felt that.’

Wolfram Sauer's opinion on Boris Eldagsen

Boris Eldagsen shakes things up, asks uncomfortable questions and brings topics such as artificial intelligence, creativity and digital ethics to the stage with a clarity that lingers long after the event. Companies and conferences looking for genuine relevance rather than ritualised keynotes are in exactly the right place with him. Boris Eldagsen delivers intellectual acuity and radical food for thought. Your audience will be rewarded with a presentation that sparks discourse – lasting, controversial and absolutely inspiring.

Interested in working with Boris Eldagsen?

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