9.30.23

Hello everyone! I wanted to post this today and not Monday, because I felt the need to put this for this month’s creative reflection.

I did an essay for my English Composition 2 class for this past summer semester. My professor asked us to write a subject that applies with our major. Since my major is BA in Art, I made a list of subjects that are recently relevant for my major. One caught my eye, AI or artificial intelligence. I had a doozy trying to come up with how I was going to compose this essay, but I must say, I did pretty damn well. Take a read for yourself.

Artificial Intelligence in the Art World: Tool or Danger to Creativity

While AI is becoming a useful tool for others, most artists feel that technology will replace human artists. The livelihood of all creators, artists, voice actors, and musicians will be threatened. AI will use their works without permission, leading to lawsuits or worse, harming the artist’s reputation. I argue that AI is also a concerning tool that could replace human creativity.

Scholars and researchers provide information to support my idea that AI may cause a difficult cost to artists who are using their skills to make good artwork. Some may argue against my idea because they think that AI could be useful for some creative people, but evidence about this topic shows that my argument is effective.

But first things first…What is artificial intelligence?

• the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.

-Oxford Dictionary

How does AI work? AI generators use machines to learn algorithms to create the artwork, setting rules by deep learning existing images of paintings, and drawings.

I did research on this subject with three articles. The first, What AI Art Means for Society According to Yale Experts, by Kayla Yup. Art students, AI researchers, and legal scholars gave their opinion about Artificial Intelligence. A concerned few argue that this technology will replace human creativity.

Yup states that the negative part with AI is the worry of being replaced, creating anxiety, and most of all lawsuits. In other words, when AI uses artwork from another artist without that person’s consent. This is where the lawsuits come in. Yale Visual Arts Collective board member Ron Cheng says “All this art is taken without the consent of these artists and the laws that exist are not really protecting them. I think that there are enough artists out there where there shouldn’t really need to make AI to do that.” (Cheng, paragraph 8). Cheng sees AI being useful, but at the cost of the artists who have spent years creating and honing their skills.   What is most concerning is that AI artists can generate styles of the human artist themselves. For example, Greg Rutkowski’s artwork has gained popular use by AI-generated sites, and he is not too thrilled about it. The article simply titled, This Artist is Dominating AI-Generated Art. And He’s Not Happy About It, by Melissa Heikkila for the MIT Technology Review, Rutkowski wanted to see if his works were published by searching his name, but the search brought back work with his name attached, but it was not his work.

“It’s been just a month. What about in a year? I probably won’t be able to find my work out there because [the internet] will be flooded with AI art,” he says. “That’s concerning.” (Rutkowski, Paragraph. 8) Another artist, illustrator Karla Ortiz, has been raising awareness of AI art and copyright. Like Rutkowski, she found her work in the data set of Stable Diffusion. She states that, “There is a coalition growing within artist industries to figure out how to tackle or mitigate this.” (Ortiz, Paragraph 16). There is also the risk of the artist losing income when people use AI-generated imagery based on or from copyrighted material for commercial use.  Ortiz argues that the art linked closely to that person, that it could raise privacy concerns and data protection.

There are a few artists who feel that AI can harm their reputation. AI has changed the way people look at art now. Back to the first article by Yup, Kim Lagunas, an art student, says that “What’s more important is the utter disrespect the AI ‘artists’ promote against the community and art as a craft, which is already extremely undervalued in modern day.” (Lagunas, paragraph 14). There have been class-action lawsuits against top AI-generated sites, like Midjourney, DeviantArt, and Stability AI. Lagunas has expressed worry of the continued advancement of AI software. She said that it can be a positive tool for artists, if the possibility to be copyrighted law, just like in the music industry.

Not only is AI becoming a concern for the art industry, but also the entertainment industry. The last article is though not scholarly, but it does touch on the subject. From Game Rant author, Trumann Tu, titled Persona 5 Actor Leaves Twitter, this is centered around voice actor Erica Lindbeck the voice of Futaba Sakura in Persona 5. Lindbeck left Twitter because she was attacked by asking someone to take down a video that was using her voice with AI, without her permission. The article states that AI has become a harmful tool in the entertainment industry, threatening the lively hoods of those using creative expression.  Other voice actors have come to the defense of Lindbeck, many have been outspoken against AI.

They expressed that their voice, their livelihood is being stolen without their permission by AI-generated content.  Other actors say it can damage their career. That is because the actors are signed to do the project. If they work outside the contract, it can get them into deep trouble, with legal ramifications.

Conclusion

We know that Artificial Intelligence is here to stay, but we need to protect ourselves from those who use AI to create, or I should say steal our artwork. It is not just artists, but voice actors, all in the creative industry. Should we have our work copywrite from AI is a good question and surely, I can only hope we can find an answer to it.

In the meantime, all artists, actors, voice actors, and many in the creative profession are keeping watch as this technology is becoming increasingly relevant, well, it has already become relevant. Artists have been protective of their current and past works, but now they want to protect them even more closely. While these AI generated sites are making images that are from the artist works, people may or may not be able to tell what AI is generated or made by the works of human artists. I do believe you can use AI to produce works using your imagination, but using other people’s works is crossing the line. AI cannot and will not compete with the emotion, time, and experience these human artists have lived through. That is what AI cannot take away from us, our human experience with life.

Works Cited

Yup, Kayla. What AI Means for Society, According to Yale Experts. Yale Dailey News. Vol.cxlv, Jan. 23, 2023, https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2023/01/23/what-ai-art-means-for-society-according-to-yale-experts/

Heikkila, Melissa. This Artist Is Dominating AI-Generated Art. And He’s Not Happy About It. MIT Technology Review. September 16, 2022, This artist is dominating AI-generated art. And he’s not happy about it. | MIT Technology Review

Tu, Trumann. Person 5 Actor Leaves Twitter. Game Rant. July 9, 2023. https://gamerant.com/persona-5-futaba-actor-erica-lindbeck-leaves-twitter/

What do you think about artificial intelligence? Is it a useful tool? Can it be used in a positive way, or it is a harmful for working artists, actors, and other creative folk?

Let me know by leaving your comments and thoughts.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday, be safe, healthy, happy, and blessed.

Featured image: Pexel