Why Artists are Fed Up with AI Art.

SamDoesArts
24 Dec 202212:55

TLDRThe video script discusses the ethical concerns surrounding AI-generated art, highlighting the unauthorized use of copyrighted images for training AI models. It emphasizes the lack of artist consent and the potential legal and reputational risks, urging for a more ethical approach to AI development that respects artists' rights. The speaker shares personal experiences of being affected by this issue and calls for collective action to advocate for change.

Takeaways

  • 🤖 AI-generated art relies on input data sets that often include copyrighted images and personal photographs taken from the internet without consent.
  • 📈 Machine learning companies profit from AI-generated media, which depends on training AI with specific data sets that may contain unauthorized content.
  • 🎨 Artists' works shared online are at risk of being used in AI training and generation without their knowledge or consent, leading to potential legal and ethical issues.
  • 🔍 Data mining practices allow AI companies to accumulate vast amounts of data, exploiting legal loopholes and targeting artists' rights.
  • 💡 The use of copyrighted data in commercial products is illegal, but AI companies often find ways to navigate around legal regulations.
  • 🌐 The creation and use of data sets like lion 5B, which contains billions of points of image and text data, including copyrighted and private data, raise serious concerns about privacy and intellectual property rights.
  • 🚫 AI-generated images can closely resemble the original copyrighted works, leading to potential forgery, reputation damage, and identity theft.
  • 🧠 AI models trained on copyrighted content cannot 'forget' the data, resulting in ongoing copyright infringement and harm to artists.
  • 📢 Artists are advocating for an opt-in system rather than the current opt-out approach to protect their rights and the integrity of their work.
  • 🌟 The music industry has established ethical systems for AI-generated audio content, and visual artists seek similar respect and protection for their work.
  • 📣 Artists and supporters are encouraged to educate others, voice their concerns, and push for change in the AI industry to ensure a fair and ethical future.

Q & A

  • How does AI generate art?

    -AI generates art by assembling visual data that have statistical correlations to each other, based on a specific data set it was trained on.

  • What is the main issue with AI art data sets?

    -The main issue is that these data sets often contain billions of copyrighted images and personal photographs collected from the internet without the consent of the intellectual property owners.

  • How does the use of copyrighted data in AI models affect artists?

    -Artists are not being protected, and their work is used in AI-generated art without their permission or compensation, infringing on their rights and potentially damaging their reputations.

  • What is the significance of the lion 5B data set?

    -The lion 5B data set, funded by Stability AI, contains 5.8 billion points of image and text data, including copyrighted and private data, and is widely used for AI generation.

  • What is data laundering in the context of AI art?

    -Data laundering refers to the process of using copyrighted data in commercial products without the knowledge or permission of the copyright owners, often by exploiting legal loopholes.

  • Why is there a double standard between AI-generated visual art and music?

    -The double standard exists because AI-generated music is often created with copyright-free data and a fair, ethical system, while AI-generated visual art frequently uses copyrighted content without艺术家的 consent or compensation.

  • What is the main concern of artists regarding AI technology?

    -The main concern is not the existence of AI technology itself, but the unethical practices of using artists' work without their consent or compensation and the lack of options to opt out or protect their rights.

  • How can artists make a difference in the AI art industry?

    -Artists can make a difference by voicing their concerns, educating others, and pushing back against companies that exploit their work, as demonstrated by the deviantART example where artists' collective action led to a reversal of a decision.

  • What is the impact of AI-generated art on the future of artists and the art industry?

    -If not addressed, the unethical use of AI-generated art could discourage young artists and negatively affect the art industry, potentially leading to a future where pursuing art as a career is no longer a viable option.

  • What can individuals do to support artists' rights in the context of AI-generated art?

    -Individuals can educate themselves and others about the issue, share information, and support artists who speak out against unethical practices in the AI art industry.

  • Why is it important for established artists to speak up about AI-generated art issues?

    -Established artists speaking up can influence the industry and inspire change, but it is also crucial for the younger generation of artists who look up to them and depend on them to advocate for fair practices and a sustainable future in the art world.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 Understanding AI and Art

This paragraph discusses the growing concern around AI-generated art and its implications. It explains that AI does not create art from nothing but relies on input data, often sourced from the internet without the consent of the copyright owners. The paragraph highlights the issue of machine learning companies profiting from high-quality media generated through AI, which is trained on specific datasets that include copyrighted images and personal photographs. The speaker shares their personal experience of their artwork being used to train AI models, emphasizing the widespread and industrial-scale violation of artists' rights. The paragraph also mentions the practice of data mining and the creation of datasets like lion 5B, which contains billions of points of image and text data, including copyrighted and private data. The commercialization of research and the exploitation of legal loopholes by AI companies are criticized, as they lead to the 'data laundering' of copyrighted content.

05:00

🎨 The Double Standard in Art and Music

The second paragraph addresses the perceived double standard between the treatment of visual artists and music artists in the context of AI-generated content. It points out that companies creating AI music models assert that their processes are ethical and do not infringe on copyright, yet the same is not extended to visual artists. The speaker argues that visual art, like music, is an integral part of human culture and that artists' rights should be equally protected. The paragraph discusses the emotional and financial significance of art to creators and the broader community. It also refutes common counterarguments, such as the idea that posting work online means it's free to use or that AI simply takes inspiration like humans do. The speaker calls for an opt-in system for using artists' work and criticizes the current exploitative practices. Personal anecdotes and experiences with the AI community are shared, illustrating the real-world impact of these issues on artists.

10:00

📢 Speaking Out for Artistic Rights

In the final paragraph, the speaker calls for unity and action among artists and supporters to address the unethical practices in AI-generated art. They emphasize that the goal is not to eradicate AI technology but to change the systems that exploit artists without consent or compensation. The speaker shares personal experiences of facing backlash for speaking out against the misuse of their work in AI models. They express sadness at the lack of empathy and understanding from some members of the AI community and the dismissive attitudes towards artists' concerns. The paragraph concludes with a hopeful note, highlighting the power of collective voices and the potential for change, as seen in the deviantART example. The speaker encourages artists to use their platforms to advocate for a future where AI and artistic rights can coexist ethically, for the benefit of both established and aspiring artists.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡AI generated art

AI generated art refers to the process where artificial intelligence systems create visual art by utilizing machine learning algorithms trained on large datasets. These systems can produce new images by identifying patterns and correlations in the training data. In the video, the concern is raised about the ethical implications of using copyrighted images to train these AI systems without the consent of the original artists.

💡Data sets

Data sets are collections of data used to train AI systems. In the context of AI generated art, these data sets often include images and visual data that the AI learns from to create new content. The video highlights the problem of using copyrighted images in these data sets without the permission of the copyright holders.

💡Copyright infringement

Copyright infringement occurs when someone uses copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright owner. In the video, it's discussed as a significant issue in the context of AI generated art, as AI systems are trained on data sets that include copyrighted images and artworks without the artists' consent.

💡Data mining

Data mining is the process of extracting or gathering large amounts of data from various sources, typically the internet, to be used for various purposes, including machine learning. In the context of the video, data mining is used by companies to accumulate vast amounts of visual data for training AI systems, often without considering the copyright status of the images.

💡Stability AI

Stability AI is a machine learning company that has developed AI models for generating art. The video discusses the company's role in the creation and use of large datasets for AI training, and the potential legal and ethical issues arising from the use of copyrighted content in these datasets.

💡Commercialization

Commercialization refers to the process of turning research, ideas, or products into commercial goods or services that can be sold for profit. In the video, the concern is raised about the commercialization of AI-generated art, particularly when it involves the use of copyrighted images without the artists' consent.

💡Data laundering

Data laundering is the practice of using legal loopholes to cleanse or legitimate data that has been obtained unethically, such as copyrighted content. In the context of the video, it refers to how companies behind AI-generated art use this practice to avoid legal regulations that protect copyrighted works of artists and creatives.

💡Reputation damage

Reputation damage refers to the harm done to an individual's or entity's reputation, which can result from various actions or events. In the video, the concern is raised that AI-generated images that mimic the style of artists could lead to reputation damage, forgery, and identity theft for the original artists.

💡Opt-out and opt-in systems

Opt-out and opt-in systems refer to the mechanisms by which individuals can choose whether their data or content is used for certain purposes. An opt-out system allows use by default and requires individuals to take action to prevent it, while an opt-in system requires explicit consent before use. The video argues for an opt-in system for the use of artists' works in AI training datasets, as the current opt-out system does not adequately protect artists' rights.

💡Artistic integrity

Artistic integrity refers to the quality of being honest and true to one's own artistic vision, style, and principles. It is about maintaining the authenticity and originality of one's work. In the video, the concern is raised that AI-generated art, which is created without the human touch and often based on existing copyrighted works, could undermine the integrity of artists and their creative process.

💡Ethical practices

Ethical practices are principles or standards that guide actions in a way that is deemed right, fair, and just. In the context of the video, ethical practices are discussed in relation to the use of artists' works in AI systems, emphasizing the need for consent, compensation, and respect for copyright laws.

Highlights

AI generated art has become a popular topic on social media, raising concerns about the implications for artists and copyright.

AI creates art by training on specific data sets, which often include copyrighted images without the consent of the intellectual property owners.

Machine learning companies profit from high-quality media generated through AI, which relies on vast amounts of data.

The process of AI art generation involves assembling visual data with statistical correlations to produce an acceptable final result.

Artists' works shared online are often included in AI training data sets without their knowledge or consent.

Steven Zapata's video provides an in-depth look at the issues surrounding AI art generation and copyright concerns.

AI models like Stability AI's have acknowledged the potential legal issues of training on copyrighted data, indicating an awareness of the problem.

The use of copyrighted images in AI training data sets is illegal, but companies exploit legal loopholes to continue this practice.

The creation of the large data set Lion 5B, funded by Stability AI, contains 5.8 billion points of image and text data, including copyrighted and private data.

AI-generated images that mimic the style of specific artists can lead to reputation damage, forgery, and identity theft.

AI models trained on copyrighted content cannot forget the data, leading to ongoing copyright infringement in their generations.

The music industry has established ethical systems to protect artists' rights in AI-generated audio content, yet a double standard exists for visual artists.

Artists are not asking to erase AI technology but rather to stop the unethical practices of using their work without consent or compensation.

The current system should be opt-in rather than opt-out, giving artists control over the use of their work in AI training.

Artists speaking out against these practices often face backlash and attempts to invalidate their concerns.

DeviantART's attempt to opt all RPS into their AI system was successfully reversed due to artists pushing back, showing that change is possible.

Artists with a platform are encouraged to speak up for the younger generation and the future of the art industry.

The video aims to educate and encourage action to ensure a fair and ethical future for artists in the age of AI.