How are all of you staying creative with the looming threat of AI?

kirsten-mcg

@NessIllustration I needed to see this!!!

kirsten-mcg

@NessIllustration I agree that for the short term we are safe. I just worry about what will happen if these companies are allowed to develop other generators in an "ethical" way (using copyright free images). We really are living in the "wild west of AI." It's a scary world to be sure!

kirsten-mcg

@davidhohn thanks for sharing what you've learned. I wasn't aware of the book cover used by Tor. If AI continues to take hold I'm afraid those will be one of the first jobs illustrators will get pushed out of. And thank you for sharing the link! I've been wondering how I can really help, other than just trying to raise awareness.

kirsten-mcg

I just read the BuzzFeed article @davidhohn posted about the AI picture book created by Ammar Reshi. I've got to say that while I think we need to stand up for ourselves as artist, I am disappointed that some people stooped to sending him "death threats and messages encouraging self-harm." We've got to be civil and encourage others to do so too! Being mean isn't going to help us.

NessIllustration

@kirsten-mcg If (or when) they develop an AI with copyright free sources, it will really become the tool that AI enthusiasts claim that it is. The AI will have a very specific "look" from being only able to access limited images.

Currently, one of the scariest things about AI is that people can use the name of an artists and feed their art in the AI to mimic their style. We've seen stories of artists getting their work replicated and even sold using their name.

With an ethically sourced AI, artists can decide if they want to be part of the dataset or not (I imagine, LOTS will opt out) which means our unique styles will be protected. That way, we can ensure clients still have to come to US for our unique style.

Jean Watson

@davidhohn said in How are all of you staying creative with the looming threat of AI?:

In fact the current state of Ai images is a result of the largest and most significant and willful copyright infringement ever.

Thanks very much for your input, David. I completely agree. Years ago my work involved obtaining copyright permissions for a publisher. It's pretty astounding that this art theft/copyright infringement has occurred as widely and quickly as it has. I guess legislation is always behind what's actually happening and in this case the development of Ai generated images has been particularly fast.

danielerossi

@MarcRobinson I think it’s best we learn to how to use these AI tools for the sole purpose of being able to keep ourselves marketable (if commercial art is where we want to go) and also to understand where the industry is going. Like when all the print designers at my work were being let go because they refused to learn web. Only two years ago I had to learn Squarespace, Canva, Webflow and similar apps on the job because they were faster than what I had to do with Adobe tools and code.

Just last night I was working on a book cover (not illustrative) and was doing some intense photoshopping of a photograph. It took me about 4 or 5 hours (A photo of a magnolia tree I took in my front yard where I’d like to remove the houses and cars behind the tree). I’m not happy with the result and found myself thinking “I wonder if I can build this in AI?”. If I can manage to create it then comes my next question — am I ripping off someone’s copyright? How would I know?

danielerossi

@kirsten-mcg I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up being right. That’s what I got into with my illustration work. Long story short: I’ve been drawing comics about stuttering featuring a fox character I created. I was asked at one point to give a cartooning class to kids at a stuttering conference. Then returned year after year. And that grew into an area of interest for me

So yes, a few jobs will be lost as others have already mentioned, however, we still have lots of room to think further outside the box.

davidhohn

@NessIllustration This is very much my argument for those illustrators who have already thrown in the (metaphorical) towel and started looking at other careers.

An Ai machine using a dataset of images from 70+ years ago will be very different than one using images made a few hours ago.

kirsten-mcg

@NessIllustration If they were to build an AI like this I would probably even use it! Think of how much time it could save when you need a reference of something just to be able to type in what you are looking for and get the reference you need with just a few clicks. I think a tool like this could be a huge help to artists without being a threat to them.

davidhohn

@Jean-Watson I'm reminded of a silicon valley quote attributed to (I think) Zuckerberg "Move fast and break things"

And things are certainly cracking -- I don't think broken yet -- but the arts community needs to move even faster.

The question that should be raised was it willful? I would argue that it was. That these companies knew and understood exactly what they were doing. They hoped that no one would notice until it was too late.

davidhohn

@kirsten-mcg

If you can afford anything for the Concept Art Association Washington DC lobbying efforts that's great.

But raising awareness is just as vital! Theres a ton of misinformation out there. Even convincing one other artist friend they should form an opinion can have an exponential effect.

And just as important are the arts institutions. Schools, colleges and Universities professional orginizations and companies who have a vested interest in maintaining a robust freelance creative community.

Contact your alma matter, your alumni groups, SCBWI. Ask them what specifically they are doing about this issue.

Fun fact: SCBWI receives (conservatively) tens of thousands of dollars in "Reprographic Royalties" (google it or let me know if you'd like me post more details). These funds are given with the very specific intention of bettering the entire picture book community, regardless of whether you are an SCBWI member or not. I know I'd like to see SCBWI spearheading an effort to correct how Ai companies have harmed the artistic community.

kirsten-mcg

@davidhohn I didn't know that about SCBWI. They have been pretty quiet on the matter so far. I am a member, so I will definitely contact them. And I would be interested in learning more about these "Reprographic royalties." And posting them here would make sure anyone else on this thread has access too.

Jean Watson

Do any Australians here know what the creative industry in Australia is doing to push back? It's clearly a global issue but I'd be interested if someone knows more about what's happening in Australia and which groups are doing what.

I'll try and find out.

Jean Watson

@davidhohn Wilful without a doubt. They would know exactly what they were doing.

MarcRobinson

@kirsten-mcg I was particularly grumpy when I wrote that first post ha. Something to do with my toddler forgetting how to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time!

MarcRobinson

@danielerossi some good points mate. I guess it's either incorporate new tech into your workflow or go really analogue in response to it. I'm probably the latter.

davidhohn

@MarcRobinson I had a discussion with another illustrator who had a similar "I'm going to shift to physical media" response to the AI art issue.

Genuinely curious -- how would this solve the issue for you?

Note: I am 100% in favor of physical media! (also in favor of digital media)

MarcRobinson

@davidhohn I've not got much of a plan. I tend to draw my stuff traditionally then paint over in Photoshop. I'm probably going to keep with this as it is important to my style. However if things go the way I fear (digital art becoming a complete noisy landscape of AI mess) I may have to try selling work in a more fine art way. Or if its for books, make a big deal of how I use traditional methods as part of the process? I'm not sure. It's all very confusing.

kirsten-mcg

@MarcRobinson haha I know what that's like! No worries. I think it's important to share our raw feelings too. Sometimes it helps just to get it out. I was at my parents house yesterday and broke down and bawled my eyes out while I told them all of this. They didn't have any solutions for me, but it helped just to say it all and not keep it inside.

I've had similar thoughts about traditional media. I've felt myself drawn more to pencil and paper lately. When I post reels on Instagram it's the ones where I'm working in traditional watercolor that tend to get the most views. I think people will always be fascinated/drawn to people who can do art with physical media. It's something computers can't do...at least not yet.