Creative Pirates — The “Manufactured” Outrage Against AI Art
If you find yourself suddenly shocked or outraged about the robots stealing art so people can make brightly coloured selfies that have body parts growing out of their head — I should tell you about cultural appropriation, genocide, PETA lobbying Etsy to throttle Indigenous economies using seal fur, and then we can head into your favourite •any home decor and clothing store• and talk about how all of those designs are skimmed from artists and creatives to create fast fashion and throwaway decorations.
As an artist and event planner who plans pop ups focused on furthering the art economy and creating a solid economic foundation for artists and makers — this isn’t new.
Etsy Forums used to be an amazing way to rally thousands of artists together to rail against the corporations who literally copied artist work and sold it on the cheap. But even then we talked about how no ideas were new and we just all made variations and played with concepts we see elsewhere.
AI didn’t start the fire. It’s been always burning since colonialism, why te supremacy and yes your beloved capitalism has been churning. (Thanks Billy Joel for writing most of this)
But I am glad we are talking about it. I have a complicated relationship with AI, especially as someone with disabilities and I use it to help me complete tasks and be abled in some ways.
I am glad people are talking about where ideas come from, how to attribute inspiration, how to recognize the economic impacts that appropriation can have on the original creators but also when you are exposed to so many different kinds of art, when you see it elsewhere — it starts to become familiar to you and I love the idea that people are now going to be buying more from artists who create in these genres because they have been exposed to the possibilities.
From an economic aspect, if I was an artist selling my work for income, I would be maximizing my SEO right now to capture the folks searching these genres out.
Viral Trends in Media
Viral trends are fascinating for me because we can see how silos can be penetrated, we can see how ideas can be spread and we can see how people who have never thought of themselves as artists start creating because tools are feeling accessible now.
How can we use the power of these viral trends to inspire creativity, innovation and yes, accessible design?
Seeing other people make cool sh*t is a gateway to you making cool sh*t too.
Important questions to consider:
- Does my art create or maintain oppression or marginalization of other artists?
- Do I want to create for fun or income?
- How do I join collectives who are creating change in the world of decolonizing the art economy (donating money or supporting the artists at the forefront of this counts as joining in)
- Does my government have plans to speak to AI development? Does my vote count towards the outcomes I want to see?
- How can I hear more perspectives on the art economy beyond a few posts on my newsfeed?
- If I am a tech developer creating AI, how can I attribute the enormous contributions volunteered or involuntarily influencing the design and implementation?
The fact is art will always be at the centre of both informing and documenting our evolution. How we choose be a part of that momentum is what defines us. Create the Rules, my friends.