In brief: Online art communities are being inundated with AI-generated artwork, prompting some sites to take measures to slow their proliferation or ban them entirely. Andy Baio from Waxy.org recently chronicled the situation and highlighted several communities that have already taken action.
Last year, Newgrounds banned images created with Artbreeder and recently revised their guidelines to prohibit AI-generated art in its art portal. The site did say that there are some use cases where AI is ok, for example if you are primarily showcasing your character art but use an AI-generated background. In such cases, any elements made using AI should clearly state this fact.
On September 5, furry art community Fur Affinity outlawed submissions created using AI or similar image generators because they lack artistic merit. Five days later, InkBlot added AI art to its list of content that will be removed. The ban applies to art / submissions created using any AI generator including but not limited to Dall-E, Midjourney, and CrAIyon.
AI artwork has been the subject of fierce debate as of late.
Jason M. Allen of Pueblo West, Colorado, recently took home first place in the Colorado State Fair’s annual art contest for a piece created using Midjourney. Allen told The New York Times that he made it clear that his submission was created using an AI generator and did not try to deceive anyone.
“I’m not going to apologize for it,” he told the publication. “I won, and I didn’t break any rules.”
Dall-E, the AI art generator from OpenAI, entered a limited open beta back in July. The platform recently rolled out a new feature called Outpainting that can extend an image beyond its border by creating new elements in the style of the original work.
Some of the larger art communities on the Internet have yet to weigh in on the matter including DeviantArt and ArtStation.
What are your thoughts on AI-generated art? Do you feel there is any harm in allowing AI-generated art on popular art sharing platforms? Should it have its own category on art sites or is banning it entirely the right move?