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Let's talk about A.I.
We're end 2023 and Artificial Intelligence is taking the media - and our lives - by storm. In this post, we share our current vision on A.I.
A Brief Historical Overview
AI has been in existence for several decades, often accompanied by grand promises but yielding underwhelming results. Initially, the intelligence in AI systems was heavily "programmed" by developers, leading to "narrow AI" that excelled in one specific task but failed miserably in others.
However, in recent times, significant breakthroughs have revolutionized AI into an entirely different beast. Today's AI is effectively a digital replica of the human brain, functioning in a similar manner. Just like a newborn, an "AI brain" starts as a blank slate, eagerly awaiting knowledge and skills to be instilled. Like raising a child, "training" an AI brain is a process of nurturing and education. It is fed copious amounts of data taken from the internet, creating internal connections that represent knowledge. This knowledge, like patterns in our brains, enables the AI to recognize and respond accordingly.
Thanks to major advancements in large-scale electronics, AI brains now boast an impressive number of interconnected nodes, far surpassing the capacity of the human brain. Simultaneously, these AI brains are being inundated with staggering volumes of information. Imagine having the ability to read every book ever written in any language and retain all that knowledge indefinitely!
Wonderful and Scary
The truly remarkable - yet simultaneously unsettling - aspect of AI lies in its capacity to transcend factual knowledge. Just like our own brains, the AI brain exposes "creativity". Yes it does! When faced with difficult questions, it can engage in a form of imagination, often referred to as "hallucinating." A perfect example of this lies in the digital images generated by AI platforms like Midjourney and DALL-E. These images may deceive you into believing they are cleverly stitched fragments of pre-existing artwork "borrowed" from the internet. While it's true that the AI uses these elements, the generated images go beyond just stitching; they come to life through a genuinely "creative" process similar to that of human minds. Remember, the AI brain is essentially a replica of our own human brains.
Understanding the profound implications of such powerful AI in the years ahead is crucial. For creators such as painters, photographers, and designers, the impact will be unprecedented. Some liken this phase to the emergence of photography and its disruption to the world of painting. However, AI represents an entirely novel and alien intelligence. It's as if echoing the sentiment of the well-known song "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" (from the 1946 musical "Annie Get Your Gun").
Yet, let us not dwell on pessimism. Human-created art will always find its place and significance. Nonetheless, the advent of AI cannot be halted; we'll have to learn to "coexist" whether we like it or not. The future promises to be both challenging and inspiring as we navigate this remarkable relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence.
The Impact of AI: Immediate Consequences
In our view, the most significant short-term challenges posed by AI are as follows:
- Flooding of AI-generated content and art on the internet, making it increasingly difficult to discover and appreciate our own authentic, painstakingly crafted creations. Even renowned artists are already grappling with this issue, and it's just the beginning. Refer to the box below for artist Greg Rutkowski's haunting experience with AI art.
- A profound erosion of trust within our society, leaving us unsure about what to believe, what's genuine, and what's fabricated. This pervasive uncertainty blurs the lines between reality and illusion, creating a crisis of confidence that affects us all.
"My name has been used as a prompt in AI tools that generate art more than 400,000 times since September 2022 - but without my consent. That's more than Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci!"
"The first month I discovered this, I realised it will clearly affect my career and I won't be able to recognise and find my own works on the internet. The results will be associated with my name, but it won't be my image. It won't be created by me. So it will add confusion for people who are discovering my works."
"All that we've been working on for so many years has been taken from us so easily with AI. It's really hard to tell whether this will change the whole industry to the point where human artists will be obsolete. I think my work and future are under a huge question mark."
Creativ.zone's Approach to AI-Generated Content
At Creativ.zone, we hold the utmost respect for the hard work of creatives, and it is our top priority to ensure transparency and recognition for their efforts. To achieve this, we have implemented a policy demanding the clear labeling of AI-generated content for anyone posting on our platform.
When content has been generated by AI, it must be distinctly identified as such. During the upload process, there will be a designated check-box specifically for this purpose. Failure to mark AI-generated content appropriately may result in the loss of upload rights.
Now, you might wonder, what exactly constitutes "AI-generated content"? For instance, let's consider an image where a minor imperfection was removed using a tool like Photoshop's "generative fill". We do not categorize such alterations as "AI-generated" since retouching images has been part of photography from its inception.
To set a clear guideline, we've decided on a middle ground:
Content, whether it be text, images, illustrations, etc., that was generated using AI for more than 50% of its creation, must be explicitly labeled as "AI generated" at creativ.zone.
Choose to Protect Your Art from AI
As we explored in the historical overview earlier in this post, the infant "AI brain" requires extensive data training, which raises a contentious issue: where do AI companies obtain all this data? The answer is through massive web scraping of internet pages. In their fervent pursuit of fame and fortune, regrettably, many of these companies overlook respecting the copyrights of content and art creators, using their work to nourish their AI "baby" without permission—akin to taking the baby food from *your* refrigerator without asking.
Thankfully, creators are increasingly becoming aware of this unethical behavior and are seeking ways to halt it. While it's still early in the process, a standard has been established for marking content as "not allowed to be used for training AI."
At creativ.zone, we take this matter seriously and have chosen to label all content on our platform with "noai" and "noimageai" tags. Ethical AI companies will honor this designation and refrain from using your work. However, it's important to acknowledge that some "less ethical" entities still exist, unfortunately constituting the majority.
We'll keep exploring new methods to safeguard your intellectual property and protect your art from being exploited by AI without your consent.
As this wild AI-ride continues to evolve and unfold in the upcoming months and years, we will update and refine this policy accordingly. We encourage you to stay tuned for further developments and adjustments as we take this exciting journey together.