Artstation and AI and where does it go from here?
Artists React: Artstation makes way for artificial intelligence
Ever since Artstation posted this FAQ page on its policies regarding the use of AI, the entire site been taken over by a wave of posts like this:
Understanding how AI generators work, including ingesting and interpolating existing art for its own creations, means that any user sharing their artwork publicly is potentially exposing their work to be used in AI creations without compensation or recognition, which, if we’re talking in terms of livelihoods and personal investment of time and effort (y’know, human terms), essentially amounts to theft.
In the days since, the policy has been updated with some clarification on AI technology and how AI-created artwork will appear on the site:
What tools are available to me on ArtStation to make sure my artwork is not used for training AI?
ArtStation has just released an update to our platform and terms of service where projects tagged using “NoAI” will automatically be assigned an HTML “NoAI” meta tag. This will explicitly disallow the use of the content by AI systems and mark the project so that they know they are not allowed to use it. You can read more about the updated terms of service here.
Why are all projects not tagged with “NoAI” by default? / Does that mean if I don’t use the tag, I am allowing it?
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. We want to give artists more control over their publicly posted work. If you do not use the tag, you are neither allowing nor disallowing the use of your project for AI. Choosing not to use the tag leaves copyright law to govern whether or not the artwork was fairly used. AI’s use and its place in copyright law is new and unsettled, leaving open many questions about copyright law’s enforceability against use of work in AI. Adding the “NoAI” tag empowers you to clarify that regardless of the state of copyright law, use of your work in AI is not permitted.
To require an explicit statement that work is not allowed to be exposed to AI technology all feels somewhat backwards. The implication here is that artists are open and willing by default to let their artwork fall into hands that it wasn’t intended for.
If I have to hide or opt-out my artwork on the hopes that AI engineers or developers will honor that, then I’ll just remove it all and won’t look back. Artstation, you’ve just talked yourself out of a user.
I know AI isn’t going anywhere, and this certainly won’t be the last incursion into a field or industry that seems so undeniably, so entirely human. If existing copyright law is the only effective measure against infringement or theft that matters, fair enough. If it’s truly up to me to protect my art, then so be it.
As an artist that is very much willing to share my work with the world, it’s up to me to ensure that it’s reaching an honest and deserving audience, and if you’re reading this, that means you. Thank you for the support.