Regulators and the public NEED TO KNOW

Artificial intelligence is a deeply complex field, and mis-regulation of it can have disastrous implications, opening up individual AI artists to patent trolling and loss of copyright protection for their art creations, while allowing monopolies with large legal teams to effectively reduce competition from small businesses, research labs, and independent creators through lawsuits.

Meanwhile, at a social level, harm is done to the progression of art overall by claiming that AI art is not art; it undermines the efforts and creative intent of those working with the technology to produce genuine and unique creations, from books, to videos, to images—all of which require creative intent and human input. By signing this petition, we are asking legislators to work with, instead of against, AI research labs and AI artists to better understand how the technology functions before engaging in regulation of it, and to consider both the positive impacts of AI art and the potential dangers of mis-regulation in order to offset the need for heavy handed laws.

 

The Stakes

a)   A major claim made by Anti-AI groups is that neural networks steal and copy art. This is not how AI art models work, and without a full understanding of the nuance behind the machinery, regulators, who are only starting to breach the topic, are likely to make policy decisions that end up damaging not just the arts but a range of other areas—from healthcare, to the economy, to overall civil liberties.

b)   What’s worse is that corporate entities are likely to take this ill-understood and complex area, where art, science, copyright law, and finance intersect, and use a combination of public opinion and lobbying to push regulation in a direction that favours them, while choking off competition and small research labs. This is a hugely overlooked problem, and the danger behind it should not be underestimated: examples of copyright trolling and other abuses can already be found in current ‘protection’ systems like DMCA, YouTube Copyright Strikes, and Twitch takedown notifications—just last year LoFi girl was taken down for posting her own music!

c)   Finally, on a social level, the negative backlash against AI from cliques of artists and institutions has led to concerning behaviour: public witch-hunts and bullying, artists flagging each other on AI-opposed platforms to (presumably) remove competition or people they don’t like, copyright protections being frozen on art made with AI that have substantial human input, and artists trying to trigger lawsuits against AI art.

 

Are There Solutions?

While governments should aim ensure a fair playing field for traditional artists, this can best be done by:

• working with research labs to offer upskilling programs for traditional artists and individuals who wish to learn AI art (which can easily be done by making use of public libraries as learning spaces)

•   carefully understanding the implications of the regulation that they do pass, and whether or not it harms other areas of AI, or opens up AI art to copyright trolling

•   creating a system for amending and updating legislation in a way that can keep up with quickly-changing AI technologies

•   weighing the rights of AI artists equally against the rights of traditional artists

•   if they do choose to move forward with a copyright-strike system, then establishing adjacent tribunals to help oversee case-by-case appeals of copyright infringement, where a tribunal would be made up of stakeholders from both the fields of AI and traditional art

•   on a general level, remaining alert to the potential for corporations and lobbyist groups to use anti-AI sentiment and lobbying to help shape jargon-heavy AI policy in a way that benefits them and undermines competitors.

 

The Positive Impacts of AI Art

AI Art has a range of implications for creators, and many have already begun applying it to visual galleries, reconstruction of lost or hidden art pieces, motion comics, concept art, writing, videos, and music design. It allows for iterative and team-driven projects, it increases the level of complexity that an artist can achieve without an expensive digital studio, it acts as a way for those with disabilities to engage in the field of art, it returns marginalized and historical voices to center-stage, and it provides a gateway to digital citizenship for at-risk and low-income youth.

All of these topics, along with the a) b) c) issues and regulatory challenges described above are discussed in an essay I have created, called “A Defense of Artificial Intelligence in the Artistic Fields”, which is in the process of being sent to Canadian and American regulators. This petition will be attached to the essay, and as such, it is a way for its signatories to have their voices directly heard by government. If you support AI art, please consider signing and leaving a positive note!

 

It's Time to Act

If you or someone you know creates AI art, whether for fun, as a supplement to your business, to further explore the limits of code, or as a creative passion project, consider signing this petition. Your voice will help bring an air of clarity to the conversation surrounding AI; it will encourage regulators to  take a closer look at both sides of the AI argument, and it will act as a counter-balance to much of the negative and ill-informed sentiment surrounding AI art.