AI Art Generation: Beneficial or Problematic?

[Lyndis]

I went looking to see if a thread on this topic already existed. Please direct me appropriately if so.

AI Art Generation: Beneficial or Problematic?​

Everyone and their mama has heard about AI art generators and the various arguments and opinions folks have about them by now. Stable Diffusion, Dream, Craiyon, even applications like Lensa that use AI to augment existing images and countless others are arriving by the day. They've quickly become a mainstay in almost every artistic community I'm apart of or adjacent to. I've heard people argue both in favor and against their use, especially when it comes to collecting a profit off what people generate, and now I want to hear it from ya'll.

Which side of the spectrum do you fall? Is AI a legitimate tool for people to use in artistic "creation", or do you feel more strongly about how it borrows from the artists these various engines "sample"? Do you think it's ethical for people to make money using these programs? Do you feel similar about AI text generators? Would you play a game, read a book, or consume other media that was made entirely from AI? Do you feel that artists should disclose whether or not AI was used in their works?

Why or why not?

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

It is what it is. It's a tool some people will use to make a picture of something that they simply can't find.

I don't like people boasting that they are "great at making art" with AI tools. That doesn't feel right to me.

We also changed our rules so that people are not allowed to sell AI generated art here. People should be supporting artists if they want to purchase art.

 

[Khalul]

The fact of the matter is that these models are mass-trained on art made by actual artists and that those artists are not compensated or credited for their work being used. The models themselves shouldn't exist as they currently do and anyone using AI art for commercial purposes is, to me, engaging in an elaborate form of theft.

If people want to use AI art for silly stuff like forum roleplay, that's usually fine, but they should be aware that it usually looks bad and everyone can tell.

Do you feel similar about AI text generators?

• Yes, as above

Would you play a game, read a book, or consume other media that was made entirely from AI?

• Not if I had to pay for it

 

[Lyndis]

If people want to use AI art for silly stuff like forum roleplay, that's usually fine, but they should be aware that it usually looks bad and everyone can tell.

Appreciate you adding to the discussion, and this line caught my interest in particular.

I know this has been a facet of RP communities and other creative areas of the internet since... well, the internet. But I can't help but wonder if this particular attitude towards images hosted by artists and communities has something to do with our present state of being. Do you think there's an ethical dilemma to be found with people using images they find online for RP and other creative uses?

Personally, I've been drawing and doing RP long enough that I've been witness to someone taking character art that I've drawn personally, editing it, and using it as a faceclaim for their own characters on a RP site. It even happened to be a commission I had done for someone else's Original Character. Now there it was, altered and renamed, used for a third party's purposes despite either my nor my client's consent.

This is a common thing in our circles and has been since the first anime girls hit the internet. Do you guys think this is in the same realm of happenings, or something entirely different and should be viewed as such?

 

[Dingo]

I think the real issue with "art theft" in rp spaces is... well, kind of part of the entire internet experience. If you put your stuff up online, it's very likely going to be used in some form or the other in a way you did not intend. So, yes, i think they are related, but I think the scale of AI, and its monetization make it so much more gross.

On the micro rp scale, I don't think we necessarily gain anything from more stringent guards against art theft, because the people "taking" the art were never going to patronize the artist, vs if people credit properly, leave a clear trail back to the artist's body of work/ how to contact them, it could have a word of mouth effect, showcasing your work to an audience you otherwise might never have reached. But that's a whole wormhole of conversation in and of itself.

Still, finding someone manipulating/ using my art in ways I didn't intend it to be used would be pretty flustering. No doubt about that.

As for the original AI question, I have this lovely video that i think sums up how I feel entirely.

 

[Lyndis]

I think the real issue with "art theft" in rp spaces is... well, kind of part of the entire internet experience. If you put your stuff up online, it's very likely going to be used in some form or the other in a way you did not intend. So, yes, i think they are related, but I think the scale of AI, and its monetization make it so much more gross.

This is an argument that I've heard on more than one occasion that has me quirking my mouth most days.

What has been said less indirectly is that artists should expect their art to be stolen as matter of fact. That by the very act of sharing that creation in a public sphere, they should also consent to the truism that their creation is no longer exclusively their own. If this was going to be the case, why should we ever bother with IP laws or other such protections like copyright?

I question if we would even have these problems in a less capitalistic society, but people have stolen art for things like social currency or "clout" before so maybe so.

 

[Silence Conspiracy]

I personally hate AI art lol, I think it looks ugly no matter what and even uglier when I find out it is AI art. Personally wish people wouldn’t post it all and act like it’s great or beautiful, which I’ve seen on instagram even though I’ve worked very hard in removing it from my feed, but it’ll still pop up because of all the activity those “pieces” generate.

That being said, I can see how AI art would benefit someone when it comes to forum rp. If you want a very specific look for a character and struggle in finding art, I can see how AI art could be a solution. They might even think it’s better than using art from an artist. Personally, I would never do it because once again, all ai art looks ugly and has same-face syndrome and lacks character.

I’d faster use a famous person or a well-known anime character for a face claim than to stoop to using AI art.

Just as I would never use a AI text generator. Or want to play a game created by AI. I’m very wary about picking up certain books when I hear AI rumors and is why I am so critical of prose because that often shows the difference of AI and a actual human writing it. As far as I have seen, even when telling AI to write more lyrical prose, they still fail at it.

 

[Raigryn Vayd]

Oh I did forget to say that 90% of it looks like an absolute crock of shit despite people being proud of what they just 'created'

 

[Lyndis]

Oh I did forget to say that 90% of it looks like an absolute crock of shit despite people being proud of what they just 'created'

I suspect this is part of the reason why AI generated art is also accepted by so many. People who don't regularly engage with art tend to have a very low bar of what's considered "good art".

Perhaps it's obvious to you and I, people who engage with art on a regular basis, but it's become horrifying to realize how bad the average person actually is at recognizing AI generated images. My friend's auntie posted a series of pictures on her Facebook of a bunch of Black children who had super light blue or green eyes and wanted to share with everyone how beautiful these children were and the variety our people come in. While that last point isn't wrong (speaking as a Black-mixed individual with green eyes) the images were very, very obviously fake. Only not so obvious to her boomer aunt, so my friend had to break it to her and ruin the fun lol

The horrifying aspect really comes in when faced with the threat of misinformation and propaganda. We're already seeing it happen with the war in Ukraine and the Israel/Palestine conflict. We already live in a time of piss poor media literacy and reading comprehension. AI generated images stand as a real threat in that regard.