Once again, the idea of coupling art and AI does not seem to be unanimous among artists around the world and more particularly among ArtStation users.
Since last Tuesday, the artists of the Epic Games platform have massively expressed their dissatisfaction. The cause ? Images generated by artificial intelligence that mingle with the work of creators…
When ArtStation gives pride of place to AI
Very popular and appreciated by artists from different backgrounds, ArtStation has had to face a revolt from its users for several days. Originally thought to host the work and present the portfolio of creators, the platform has recently started to highlight works generated by AI. While this year has opened up the field of possibilities in terms of art with the emergence of tools such as Dall-E and Midjourney, it has also opened the doors to a hostile world for artists in the entertainment industries, including cinema and video games.
By going to the “Explorer” section of ArtStation, users have recently noticed the presence of works generated by artificial intelligence among those published by artists. And obviously, many of them, unhappy, expressed their displeasure with this initiative by massively posting an image with the words “NO TO IMAGES GENERATED BY AI” and a crossed out “AI” symbol. and housed in a red panel.
The hashtag #noaiart also popped up to support the artists’ protest on ArtStation’s homepage. But unfortunately, the battle against AI seems far from won for Digital Artists.
Artists VS Artificial Intelligences: the beginning of a long battle
For artists, the presence of AI-generated works on ArtStation is an attack on their own work. It is the materialization of a lack of respect for their talent and their skills, in particular because AI images are ultimately only the fruit of work carried out by human beings without them being mentioned.
Since last Tuesday, artists around the world have shown their solidarity by protesting together against the proliferation of AI on ArtStation. In response to this movement, the platform reacted last Wednesday by taking the side… of AI. In addition to seeing no inconvenience, ArtStation specifies that its ” content guidelines do not prohibit the use of AI in the artwork publishing process “.
If the platform does explain in its rules that artists should be free to decide how their art is used, it however affirms that it does not want ” become a gatekeeper with terms that stifle research and commercialization of AI while respecting artists’ choices and copyright law “. Statements that obviously do not delight artists. Some of them want AI works to be distinguished from the works of artists on the platform while others hope to see artificial intelligences disappear from ArtStation by simply becoming banned. To be continued…
Sources: Vice, Game Developer
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