AI is causing a stir again. This time in the erotic scene. (Image: Kickstarter – Mana Quest)
A digital storm is brewing – on Reddit. The r/MonsterGirl community is on the verge of splitting. This is a so-called hentai community that specializes in monster women.
The term Hentai
comes from Japanese and describes pornographic anime and manga, as well as all works of art that are based on this Japanese drawing style. The variety of works of art in this genre is gigantic, so images of hybrids of monsters and women are only a small part of the spectrum.
What is the problem? According to the community, the subreddit is flooded with AI-generated images. AI images are being sharply criticized, especially in the art scene, for copyright reasons, among other things. And while users in the subreddit are calling for a ban on AI-generated images, the moderators are hesitant.
The 642,000-member-strong subreddit r/MonsterGirl, which shares various digital images of naked women with body parts of (fantasy) monsters, is in an internal crisis.
Many users claim in a post that was particularly hotly debatedthat the number of AI-generated images is too high and that corresponding accounts or posts should be blocked. Unfortunately, the original post was deleted, but the comments are still visible.
And what you can see there is above all sharp criticism of the sheer mass of contributions:
“In my opinion, the most important thing is to ban all AI content from people who create it for profit. They are the most annoying, the most spam-intensive, the most persistent.”
Artists also have their say:
“Please, as an artist, AI is something I really don’t need to see more of; not to mention there are already plenty of AI subreddits.”
Others point to the negative impact on human artists and the environment:
“It’s important to note that AI is not only harmful to artists, which everyone likes to mention, but it’s also incredibly harmful to the environment.”
How do the mods react? Erdonko, the according to his own statement only active moderator, sees no reason to act.
“I really don’t see any practical reason why I should care about banning AI. Contrary to what many claim, this sub doesn’t get a massive influx of posts in general, let alone AI posts. AI images have been allowed for 2 years, and only now is it a big problem because 4 AI posts randomly got attention.”
erdonko
Some users criticize that as an individual, even with bot support, one cannot capture or recognize all AI content.
The community is not only fighting back with comments. Memes are also making the rounds on the subreddit. (Image: Reddit – r/MonsterGirls)
Some argue that smaller subreddits have been blocked by Reddit because they only have one mod. And they are right, because the Moderator Code of Conduct states that a subreddit has »enough mods [haben muss]to manage your community effectively and consistently.”
However, this seems to be a matter of interpretation, because some subreddits with only one mod have been blocked for a long time (for example r/gooncaves), while others continue to exist, as r/MonsterGirls shows.
By the way: You can find out how to recognize AI-generated images here:
The debate on r/MonsterGirl is exemplary for similar discussions on other platforms such as Etsy or DeviantArtWherever human creativity has previously been the focus, the introduction of AI-generated content can lead to conflicts.
We are curious to hear your opinions and experiences on this topic. Have you seen similar discussions in other communities? What do you think about the use of AI-generated content in creative fields? Share your thoughts in the comments!
