AI generated artworks ethical and copyright nightmare This is Upsetting artists all over the worldShe encounters resistance everywhere from Newgrounds to Fur Affinity in this latest case, to an anime conference that has labeled AI art as “fake goods.”
Animé Los Angeles, taking place in January 2023 at the Long Beach Convention Center, issued a statement earlier today “regarding… the recent discussions about AI-generated art.”
The explanation in full reads (emphasis mine):
Al-generated artworks and their place in the congressional space (exhibition halls, artist alleys, etc.) have become a focus of much online discussion lately. Our staff observed the discussion and determined that we cannot in good faith allow this type of product to exist in our space due to the current manner of implementation and lack of consideration for artists.
At Animé Los Angeles, we do not condone or accept any form of Al-generated artwork to be used in our promotional materials or sold in our exhibition hall or artist alley.
If any form of Al-generated work being sold is determined to be such by our staff, it will be considered a form of counterfeit/pirated copy and must be removed.
In terms of our brand, we pay close attention to the work our contributing artists create and recognize the value they bring to our identity and convention space. Everything you see on our website, our promotional items or our products is (and always will be) created by an artist with whom we work directly. Anything generated by Al is unofficial and not approved by the Animé Los Angeles staff.
For purposes of this policy, Animé Los Angeles will consider any work created with an Al program that uses sources that the artist does not own or hold any rights to be an infringing work. If in the future such a program is created that only allows sourcing from certain images owned by the artist, it is the artist’s responsibility to provide proof that the pieces were not created from stolen images.
We stand by this position and will continue to enforce it in the future and will keep an eye on the discussion from now on.
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While they just leave the door open easy for a highly theoretical, utopian version of AI art that is transparent and open about its education, for AI art as it is today –a black hole of uncredited undisclosed thefts fueled by eeconomic and technical concerns with almost zero interest in the art itself– that’s a big “no thanks” from the organizers of the convention.
Now that this show has come to an end and the impact of AI art on the community and the industry is becoming more evident, it will be interesting to see if more events follow in the coming months.
