Why Artists HATE AI Art! (And Why It’s NEVER Ethical) || SPEEDPAINT + COMMENTARY

Duchess Celestia
18 Feb 202317:21

TLDRThe video discusses the ethical concerns surrounding AI-generated art, particularly focusing on the use of the lion 5B dataset, which contains over 170 million images scraped from the internet without the consent of artists. It argues that AI art is inherently unethical due to its reliance on stolen work for training. The video also highlights the legal challenges faced by the industry, with ongoing lawsuits against companies like Stability AI and Microsoft for copyright violations. Furthermore, it addresses the potential impact on artists' livelihoods, as AI art threatens to replace human artists in various sectors. The creator advocates for a more ethical approach to AI art, suggesting the use of legally sourced data and the development of tools that assist rather than replace human artists.

Takeaways

  • 🎨 AI art generation raises ethical concerns because it uses a vast database of images, often sourced without the creators' consent, which can infringe on copyright laws.
  • 🔍 The ethical issues with AI art extend beyond just its creation; it impacts the entire art industry, potentially replacing human artists and diminishing job opportunities.
  • 🖌️ Celestia emphasizes that while AI-generated art might be seen as a tool, it's often used to replace the entire art creation process, devaluing human skill and effort.
  • 🚫 The use of the Lyon 5B dataset, which contains millions of unethically sourced images, is a central ethical issue. Its continued use in AI models perpetuates the problem.
  • ⚖️ There is ongoing legal action against companies using AI in art creation, highlighting the unresolved tensions between technology, copyright law, and artists' rights.
  • 🤖 AI art's capacity to replicate styles and images with high fidelity raises unique challenges that differ from those posed by other tools like digital art programs.
  • 💰 The economic impact on artists is profound, with AI increasingly being used in commercial art production, often without adequate compensation or credit to original artists.
  • 🔧 While AI art can technically be used ethically, the current practices and implementations often fall short of ethical standards due to profit motives and lack of transparency.
  • 🌐 Celestia suggests a future where AI art is used responsibly involves creating ethically sourced datasets and legislating fair practices in creative industries.
  • 👥 The community and industry need to address both the technical and human sides of AI art, promoting its benefits while protecting artists and their livelihoods.

Q & A

  • What is the main topic of the video?

    -The main topic of the video is the ethics of AI art, specifically whether the creation of AI art is ethical and the dilemmas surrounding it.

  • What is Squarespace and how is it mentioned in the video?

    -Squarespace is a website building and hosting platform. It is mentioned as the sponsor of the video, and the speaker discusses its versatility in creating various types of websites, including a personal portfolio and a site dedicated to their cat, Cheddar.

  • What is AI art and how is it typically generated?

    -AI art is an image created by an algorithm based on a text prompt. The most popular form mentioned is stable diffusion, which generates images by training on a wide variety of reference images.

  • Why is the use of the dataset called Lion 5B controversial?

    -Lion 5B is controversial because it is a collection of over 170 million images scraped from the internet without the consent of the creators and copyright holders. This means that AI models trained on this dataset are using the work of artists without their permission, which raises ethical and legal concerns.

  • What is overfitting in the context of AI art generation?

    -Overfitting in AI art generation refers to an instance where the AI model creates something nearly identical to an image from its training data. This can occur when the AI has been trained on a specific dataset and ends up replicating styles or images from that dataset too closely.

  • Why are artists concerned about AI art generation from a financial perspective?

    -Artists are concerned that the use and popularization of AI art could eliminate the need for human artists, thereby erasing job opportunities and potentially devaluing the art community and the effort that goes into creating art.

  • What is the current legal situation regarding AI art and copyright?

    -There are ongoing lawsuits surrounding copyright violations resulting from AI art generation. Companies like Getty Images and artists are suing AI model creators for illegally using their content without permission.

  • How does the speaker suggest the art community should respond to AI art?

    -The speaker suggests that instead of resisting AI art, the art community should focus on making it more ethical. This includes fighting for ethically sourced datasets, using AI art as a tool to assist artists, and advocating for legislation that supports the involvement of human artists in creative projects.

  • What is the difference between how a human artist uses references and how AI uses references?

    -A human artist uses references by interpreting and reinterpreting them through their perception and skill. AI, on the other hand, uses references to directly recreate aspects of the subject matter with high accuracy, at a rate and scale that humans cannot achieve, and without the creative reinterpretation that a human artist would apply.

  • Why is the speaker critical of the idea that AI art democratizes art creation?

    -The speaker is critical because AI art can complete the entire art creation process without the need for human skill or effort. This can devalue the work of artists who have spent years studying and practicing, and discourage people from learning to create art themselves.

  • What is the speaker's final stance on the ethics of AI art?

    -The speaker concludes that AI art is inherently unethical and exploitative as long as it is created using datasets like Lion 5B, which contain stolen works of real artists. However, they advocate for fighting for a more ethical future for AI art.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Exploring the Ethics of AI Art and its Impact

Celestia introduces the topic of AI art's ethical dilemmas, distancing from the previous discussion about whether AI art qualifies as 'real' art. She highlights concerns about AI art's creation using data sets derived from unauthorized image scraping, emphasizing the exploitation of artists' copyrighted work without consent. This use of AI, she argues, allows for the replication of any artist's style included in the dataset, raising significant ethical and legal questions. Celestia also provides an ad read for Squarespace, showcasing its versatility by creating a website dedicated to her cat, Cheddar, illustrating Squarespace's ease of use and comprehensive features.

05:01

🚨 Legal Challenges and Ethical Concerns in AI Art

Celestia discusses ongoing legal battles within the art community, focusing on copyright violations by AI technologies like stable diffusion. These legal issues stem from AI models being trained on datasets like Lyon 5B, which contain over 170 million images scraped without creators' permissions. She contrasts this with ethical practices in AI-generated music, highlighting a selective adherence to copyright laws. Celestia's examination of the broader implications of AI art includes its potential to recreate and potentially 'overfit' artworks, effectively replicating them without the original artists' consent, leading to widespread ethical and legal ramifications.

10:02

🤔 The Theoretical and Real Consequences of Ethical AI Art

Exploring a hypothetical scenario where AI art uses ethically sourced data, Celestia probes whether AI art could ever be considered ethical. She discusses the broader implications for artists, particularly concerning job security and the potential obsolescence of human artists in various fields due to AI's rapid improvement and misuse in industries. Celestia criticizes the use of AI in replacing human creativity, noting instances where companies have employed AI art to cut costs at the expense of genuine artistic employment, devaluing the personal and professional investment artists make in their craft.

15:02

🌍 Adapting to AI Art: Resistance and Practical Approaches

In the final section, Celestia acknowledges the inevitability of AI art's integration into society and the art world. She advocates for a pragmatic approach, focusing on enhancing ethical practices rather than resisting AI art's existence. Celestia suggests promoting the use of ethically sourced data sets and legislative changes to protect human artists' roles. She emphasizes the need for the art community to adapt and find ways to incorporate AI as a tool that complements human creativity, striving for a balanced coexistence that respects both technological advancements and artists' rights.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡AI Art

AI Art refers to artwork that is created by an algorithm based on a text prompt. It is a subject of ethical debate because it often uses existing art without the consent of the original artists. In the video, the discussion revolves around the ethical implications of AI art creation, particularly focusing on the use of AI to generate images that are potentially derivative of copyrighted works.

💡Stable Diffusion

Stable Diffusion is a popular method for generating AI art. It is mentioned in the video as a process that uses a large dataset of images to create new images. The controversy stems from the fact that the dataset used for training these models often includes images that were used without the consent of their creators, raising copyright and ethical concerns.

💡Ethical Dilemma

An Ethical Dilemma is a situation that requires a choice between options that are all considered morally wrong or undesirable. The video discusses the ethical dilemmas surrounding AI art, such as whether it is fair to use artists' work without their consent and the potential for AI to replace human artists in certain creative fields.

💡Copyright Infringement

Copyright Infringement occurs when someone uses copyrighted material without permission from the rights holder. The video highlights several lawsuits and legal issues arising from AI art generation, which is seen as infringing on artists' copyrights because the AI is trained on their work without consent.

💡Overfitting

Overfitting is a phenomenon in AI where a model performs well on its training data but poorly on new, unseen data. In the context of the video, overfitting is mentioned as a problem because AI art models can sometimes generate images that are nearly identical to those in their training data, which could be a form of copyright violation.

💡Artists' Rights

Artists' Rights refer to the legal and moral entitlements of artists over their work, including the right to be credited and the right to control how their work is used. The video emphasizes the importance of these rights and how they are being impacted by the rise of AI art, which can potentially undermine the value and originality of human-created art.

💡Squarespace

Squarespace is a website building and hosting platform that is mentioned as the sponsor of the video. It is used as an example of a versatile platform that can host various types of websites, including an artist's portfolio or even a website dedicated to a personal pet, showcasing its ease of use and customization options.

💡E-Commerce Integration

E-Commerce Integration refers to the ability to set up an online store and sell products directly through a website. In the video, it is mentioned in the context of Squarespace's capabilities, highlighting how the platform allows for the integration of online sales, such as for merchandise related to the artist's work.

💡Artistic Interpretation

Artistic Interpretation is the process by which an artist puts their own creative spin on a subject or reference material. The video contrasts human artistic interpretation with AI's method of creating art, arguing that AI lacks the creativity and nuance inherent in human reinterpretation of references.

💡Democratization of Art

The Democratization of Art refers to the idea that technology, such as AI art generators, can make art creation accessible to everyone, not just trained artists. The video argues against this notion, stating that while AI can create images quickly, it does not possess the skill or creativity of a human artist, and its use can devalue the artistry involved in traditional art creation.

💡Legal Action

Legal Action involves taking a matter to court to resolve a dispute. The video discusses ongoing legal actions against companies that have used AI art generation in ways that are considered to infringe on artists' rights. It suggests that legal action is one way to address the ethical concerns surrounding AI art.

Highlights

Celestia discusses the ethical dilemmas of AI art, focusing on whether it's ever ethical to create it.

Stable diffusion, a popular AI art model, generates images based on a dataset of over 170 million images scraped without consent.

AI models use vast numbers of images as references, which can replicate the style of any artist included in the training set.

AI does not store stolen images but uses its training to generate new artwork, posing significant copyright concerns.

AI art generation is profitable, yet artists whose works were used for training do not benefit financially.

Legal issues abound as companies like Getty Images and artists sue AI developers for copyright infringement.

Stability AI admits ethical creation of their music AI, Dance Diffusion, using only copyright-free sources.

Public outcry over AI art raises questions about whether AI art can ever be considered ethical if it uses stolen data.

Celestia argues that while AI could be a tool for artists, it is often used to replace human artists, threatening jobs.

AI's ability to rapidly recreate images from its memory surpasses human capabilities and raises unique ethical issues.

Discussion on the possible ethical use of AI art if sourced from voluntarily provided or copyright-free images.

The role of AI in potentially eliminating the need for human artists in certain industries is a major concern.

The debate on whether AI art is simply another tool like digital art or fundamentally different due to its autonomous capabilities.

Advocacy for legislation to ensure ethical use of AI in art and maintaining a minimum quota of human artists in projects.

Celestia emphasizes the importance of adapting to AI technology responsibly, advocating for ethical practices in its deployment.