Let’s Talk About AI Art

What is AI Art?

I’m sure we’ve all seen it by now – the profile pics and posts that look like digital works of art. All of these are examples of AI art created by Lensa.

AI art has been around for a while, but Lensa has been the latest app to popularize its use. For a small fee, users upload 10-20 photos of themselves to generate images in various styles.

As fun as these fantastical images are, this surge in AI art is cause for some concern for artists.

What is the AI Art Controversy?

Artists have been raising questions about the ethics behind artificially generated art.

Lensa is essentially a highly customized and streamlined interface for the Stable Diffusion deep learning model. The app takes user photos and puts them through Stable Diffusion’s knowledge base and captures the user’s features to stylize them.

The problem is that much of the art that the model has drawn comes from art that is available on the internet, often without the knowledge or consent of the artist.

Users end up with a variety of photos in different styles that can borrow ideas from an artist’s work and style without containing actual snippets or features of their existing work. Even if Lensa isn’t directly plagiarizing existing works, there are concerns that it devalues the work of the artists.

Why commission an artist for a portrait of yourself or another subject in their unique style if you can ask an AI model to generate one for you?

There are others that view Lensa and AI generated art as another tool to generate references for things that do not exist in nature or might otherwise be difficult to visualize.

Despite this, there are some people that still have issues with the use of AI at all. John Lam, Riot Games storyboard artist, states that even when using it for inspiration, you’re still training it with other people’s data.”

Where Do Artists Go from Here?

Artists are trying to raise awareness about the way AI art works and the ethical and intellectual property implications that apps like Lensa present.

Popular art sharing and specific portfolio sites from Instagram to ArtStation have seen a rise of “protest” images saying “no” to AI art.

Artists are understandably concerned about protections around their art and how it’s being used to further develop technology while it infringes on their intellectual property.

Although copyright law does not currently apply to art styles, it’s easy to understand why an artist that has spent years developing that style might take issue with its quick and easy application to any number of subjects.

Having specific styles and techniques transferred to virtually any application has left artists feeling ripped off, especially for those that create digital illustrations for influencers, companies, or other commissions.

As artificial intelligence continues to develop, the legal and ethical implications will have to be explored. Do you think AI art is ripping artists off? Will there ever be a place for it that doesn’t step on artists’ toes? Let us know what you think!