AI art is a controversial topic these days. I’m not going to open that can of worms right now. Let’s remember a few things. Remember..
When self-checkout became a thing? and people were like: No, we don’t want to use that, it’s stealing someone’s job! Well, it is taking cashiers’ jobs away from them. But most of you use it, don’t you? Because it’s easier and faster than waiting in line for a physical person to check you out.
ChatGPT? Is sampling millions of blogs around the web, including this one. Did I give Microsoft and other companies permission to sample my blog and use it to teach the AI? Hell no. No one is talking about that. But that’s how it’s learned to have a conversation with you. Are you guys not going to use ChatGPT because it’s sampling millions of blogs out there without their permission? Some of you won’t. But most of you will. Because it’s easy, it’s convenient, it’s fast.
The only difference i can see in my hobby is that now, instead of people copying fan art of intellectual property they do not own and making prints and selling them at cons, they will now use AI generated art to produce fan art of intellectual property they still do not own and make prints of those and sell them. They’ll just steal in a new way. And most goers to a con either don’t know that these sellers are violating IP, and some just don’t care.
I am not arguing right or wrong in any of this. I don’t particularly care about my sector replacing my job with automation or whatever. It’s been happening for about 10 years now. I am arguing that humans are cheap, lazy, and selfish. If there is an easier way to do something? They will do it. If the cost of a can of beans is 99 cents at store X and 100 cents at another store Y? They will probably go to store X. And store X takes out insurance policies on its long-term employees that do not benefit the surviving loved ones in any way. They collect on the insurance when the employees die and put the money in their coffers. That is a fact.
One more thing. If you know anything about art, the rules of composition, if you can count fingers and toes, you will be able to distinguish many examples of AI art. If you see enough AI art, you start to recognize that the algorithm makes art in specific ways. And there are already algorithms being tested that protect people from having their work sampled.