Ordering a pizza doesn’t make you a Chef. Even if you select the toppings. So why would this be any different in the world of digital art? In an age where words matter, I believe that it is more important than ever to set the record straight on AI and the language adopted by the people that choose to prompt “art” requests from it.
Alternative facts do not apply
If I task you with making art for me based on my description of the desired final product, then I am acting as an Art Director. If you make an artistic interpretation for me based on that request, then you are acting as the Artist. *with me so far?
Even if I, as the Art Director posses the artistic ability to make it myself, it is irrelevant. In this instance, directing art makes you an Art Director. It is unethical for an Art Director to claim credit for something that an intelligent Artist has made for them by request. Not crediting the creator is not an accurate recording of the provenance of the piece – and it’s untrue.
If an Art Director takes the requested art and then modifies it, the art does not magically become theirs. It is by definition an artistic collaboration. Even if the Artist is unaware of its modification (or even cares). AIs don’t don’t care about anything. This also does not make it alright for an AI Art Director to claim a prompted image as their own. Copyrights on AI created artworks continue to be contested in the courts. One thing is for certain, more than 1 intelligence has claim over these creations.
[Read more…] about If you use AI to make art, you’re not an AI Artist. You’re an AI Art Director.