ABELS 2-3 ARTICLE
AI Art Generators
Should They Be Banned or Not?
A website created by Group 2 dedicated to a position paper written in fulfillment of the course, Argumentation and Debate's final requirement.
Art Throughout the Years
Art has always been part of our lives; not only for entertainment purposes but also as a source of income. Art has been thriving even after the pandemic in 2020, garnering a total of 65.1 billion U.S. dollars in global art market sales in 2021 (Statista 2022). And as art continues to develop, so does technology; even more so if they are combined. From traditional, to digital, and now, Artificial Intelligence (AI).
https://pin.it/45rl2WT
What is an AI Art Generator?
AI art generators have always been there since the 1960s, starting with an AI art system called AARON, developed by Harold Cohen. The vice president of advanced technologies at AT&T, Mazin Gilbert, wants to make AI technologies available to everyone, particularly to different corporations (Wilson & Daugherty, 2018). AI art generators have been progressing at a fast rate, which ignited discourse among artists. They argue that if this method of art continues, it will lessen the essence of traditional and digital visual arts, artists will be prone to losing their jobs, and issues in the cyber world such as system hackings, non-consensual deep fake porn, and stealing or faking masterpieces will multiply. Thus, people have been contemplating whether it should be banned from society or not.
However, despite the threat that AI poses to humanity, banning it would prevent technological advances, so a better move would be to regulate it. There are also numerous organizations studying and developing AI art generators, and by banning it, many would lose their jobs. Rules such as licensing who are allowed to use it, making crimes with the use of AI punishable by law, and requiring transparency in projects and studies are more than enough to restrict those with malicious intent that are using AI as a weapon.
https://pin.it/4CIkYe2
Are There Benefits in Using AI Art Generators?
Unbeknownst to us, there are benefits to AI art generators. In 2022, Marguerite De Leon asked artists’ thoughts about AI art, and there were mixed responses. For instance, Animator Janina Malinis thinks that their hard work and artistic skills honed for years might go in vain, but could also see how AI art allows artists to develop new concepts and ideas. One of the ways that AI is changing art is the collaboration between humans and AI (Kaushik Pal, 2023). Articles by Foster, Sketchar, Kelly, and Ajao present that AI art can serve as a tool to regular artists, like how famous YouTube artists (Jazza, ErgoJosh etc.) used AI art generators as resources to produce illustrations beyond their expectations (Foster, 2022). An art student also shared how she got inspiration from AI images she generated, and those lacking the requisite artistic skills can also create AI-generated art for personal use, and the statement applies to students with no money that may need it for their projects, as long as it would never be monetized or claimed as authentic art. They can develop something that seems professionally designed even if they have never studied design before by employing premade templates. Numerous artists out there are already utilizing AI art generators for their own benefit, therefore banning this tool would be unreasonable.
But of course, it is impossible to reap only benefits, as there will always be people who can shift a progressive tool into something that can fuel their selfish interests and ideologies. Just like how AI can create deepfakes, which are fake yet utterly convincing videos that can be used to destroy someone’s life in different ways. Sweet Anita, a twitch streamer, discovered that her face was being placed into pornographic videos using AI, which even a co-streamer “friend” of hers bought. It is a disgusting crime orchestrated by a Reddit user named deepfake, from which the term was derived. The rape culture can never truly be solved, and it’s sad how technology is being weaponized like this.There is also an issue regarding copyright. AI is basically reproductions of other people's artwork, using machine learning to imitate and create new ones—and that could be an unauthorized derivative, which is an infringement. Bilawal Sidhu, a digital creator, blends reality and imagination with 3D and AI, and although this seems intriguing at first, that is not the case when they essentially stole the work of Yoshiaki Kawajiri and his animation team without payment or consent, even claiming “Bloodlust” as free online even though it is not.As AI art does not meet the standards of what can be copyrighted, there would be no true owner, and therefore claiming it to be “real” art is absurd. Instead, it should be used for school projects as a one-time thing if needed, or a personal use wallpaper if desired. This is why we need regulations on who can use these AI art generators, and pass laws that can hold these offenders who use them maliciously or claim them arrogantly, responsible for their actions.
In conclusion, AI-generated art should not be banned but only regulated.
There are various ways to avoid the negative outcomes that AI art generators cause, with the main one involving government intervention. Creating an application of an AI art generator should require licensing which involves transparency of what the project is; what it is for; what are the references used, and who are part of the project, since the machine simply learns these art styles from real people that work hard on their art, and they should be given credit for it, with their permissions as well. This also prevents the possibility of its misuse such as creation of deepfake porn, monetized artistic images or videos, and claiming that the AI-generated art is made by a human hand. With that said, it is also important that these technological developments are allowed to flourish freely, since these inventions have potential, and will be beneficial to whoever needs it—whether they like it or not.
https://pin.it/4CIkYe2