Corporations in the United States have grown and penchant for artificial intelligence. With the promise of free labor and faster turn around, these profit-driven organizations have already widely integrated AI to cut-costs. However, work by artificial intelligence is not free, it has a real, human cost. The World Economic Forum's 2025 Future of Jobs Report found that as many as 41% of employers were planning on downsizing their workforce due to AI. This will leave millions of human beings unemployed or underemployed. And the first on the chopping block: artists. 

While profit-first corporations don't see the value in human creativity, most of us do. Art, in its many forms, is only made meaningful through the effort, passion, and humanity evident in every piece. It is through art that we can find commonality in human suffering, human love, and human experiences. It is through art that we can learn what it means to be human, feel less alone, and work together to make the world and better place. Therefore, when art lacks this sense of humanity, it loses its purpose, its humanity, and a sense reality. When presented with AI-generated animation Hayao Miyazaki, beloved Japanese animator and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, stated "Whoever made it gives no thought to pain... it's an awful insult to life." Art, music, and literature must be protected for the sake of all humanity and life itself.

Unfortunately, in a society that values efficiency and profit over people, AI-generated "art" often wins out. The internet is now flooded with AI-generated art, music, literature. In the near future, it is very possible that most art we see on a daily basis will be generated, not created. Mass layoffs of artists, writers, and visionaries run rampant: of course, the forbidden fruit of AI and the promises of cost-cutting is just too tempting for corporations to consider the human consequences. 

AI can benefit humanity, but like any tool, it must be used responsibly, or else it will cause great harm. Some AI products help with mass disease diagnosis or create real-time captions for improved accessibility. These are some strong use cases that overall improve humanity by solving real problems and alleviating suffering. However, art is not a problem to be solved by AI, but a solution for humanity to discover itself. 

Art has been an essential part of humanity since we were scrawling stick figures on cave walls. If we sacrifice art, we also sacrifice our sense of shared humanity, compassion, and innovation. 

We must take action to empower artists of all kinds and protect human creativity. We must push back against unethical use of AI. Here are our first steps:

• We ask that ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI/LLM organizations to develop a collective database of published work that was AI-generated, accessible to the public. This will help consumers make informed choices on the content they support. 
• We ask that these same organizations require permission from artists before using their art to train AI/LLMs. If artists do opt-in, their contribution should be recognized as negotiated (i.e. credit on the company website or royalty fees). If artists do not opt-in, their art cannot be used as training data.
• If you are signing this petition, pledge to make a case for artists in your community and where you work. Encourage companies to hire artists and avoid supporting content that is made exclusively with AI.

The growing power of Artificial Intelligence is inevitable, but losing our humanity is not. We must take these first steps now, to set the stage for a brighter future tomorrow. Artificial Intelligence and the average person don't have to compete for profit and efficiency, but can instead thrive together. On this current path, AI is set to silence human creativity. If we act now, we can instead set the foundation for ethical AI use that empowers human creativity and innovation. Together, we can build a world that truly treasures the arts, the sciences, and humanity.