ArtStation Gets Hit With Protest Signs On Own Site After Enabling AI Artworks
While ArtStation is arguably one of the most popular portfolio platforms for professional artists to showcase their work, it seems the site has recently hit a snag with the community over its policy on artificial intelligence (AI) art.
According to NME, users have noticed more and more AI-generated works populating the front page of the site, with some even alleging that algorithms could be using artists’ original pieces on ArtStation to train systems.
Dan Eder, the artist behind MultiVersus, explains that the gripe many creators have with AI-generated art isn’t that they are against the technology, but rather, displaying computer-created works alongside pieces that “took years of experience to make is beyond disrespectful.”
Seeing AI art being featured on the main page of Artstation saddens me. I love playing with MJ as much as anyone else, but putting something that was generated using a prompt alongside artwork that took hundreds of hours and years of experience to make is beyond disrespectful. pic.twitter.com/4p2MLDbADD
— Dan Eder (@3DanEder) December 9, 2022
In protest of the page’s policy, illustrator Nicholas Kole and costume designer Imogen Chayes designed a poster that reads ‘No To AI Generated Images’ on ArtStation, which has since been shared hundreds of times in support of the movement.
Furthermore, the site’s ‘Trending’ page has been filled with messages of protests over the last several days as artists band together in solidarity to take a stand again the increasing influx of AI-generated art.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem the website—which is run by Epic Games—is taking heed to its users’ requests. It initially removed many of the protest images, and hastily added an FAQ section on how it dealt with artists’ rights and permissions, that only added fuel to the fire.
“We believe artists should be free to decide how their art is used, and simultaneously we don’t want to become a gatekeeper with site terms that stifle AI research and commercialization when it respects artists’ choices and copyright law,” the management wrote.
we already know that the current iterations violate this, we've found our work in the training data. some of your top artists are popular prompt tags, and they certainly didn't authorize that.
— Emily L'Orange🦆🊠(@emilylorange) December 14, 2022
try again pic.twitter.com/QbNLf2QfyQ
As per Kotaku, many of ArtStation’s fans have hit back, indicating the company’s response to their protests is akin to a slap in the face to a loyal community that began from humble beginnings back in 2014.
“Whole lot of words to say you don’t care,” replies one user to the announcement, while another beseeched the page, saying, “You could’ve saved us all a lot of time by just saying ‘lol deal with it’ like the rest of the AI globs.”
Till now, the site’s ‘Trending’ page remains populated with many anti-AI images, and it’s unclear what the company will do moving forward to gain back the trust and respect of its once-ardent supporters.
This is probably one of the most beautiful sights to behold in our times in the art world, and probably the most creative one in current states of AI.
— Alector 🌱 (@AlectorFencer) December 14, 2022
Big protest going on over at ArtStation! pic.twitter.com/AhoQFSMWf9
[via NME and Kotaku, cover image via Vasile Bobirnac | Dreamstime.com]
