From ancient cave painters to the likes of Pablo Picasso and other modern artists, art has been at the centre of human identity throughout centuries, evolving as we advance through time. 

Now, we have a new entity in the picture. 

Capable of analysing existing art styles and curating them efficiently, AI (artificially intelligent) art models have recently infiltrated the creative industry and are rapidly gaining popularity around the globe, due to their attractive feature of allowing users to generate an image with a few keywords and the click of a button. While these tools provide exciting opportunities, they have stirred an uproar in the artistic community regarding originality, ethics, and the essence of expression.
 
Similar to a human being trying to learn a new skill, an AI model is “trained” to scope the vast limits of a particular field, analyse the workflows and ultimately generate a pathway that is most efficient to complete a task. In essence, it is a system learning to recognize patterns and offer solutions based on what has worked in the past. In the case of an AI art model, its training is composed of being exposed to a collection of various artworks by multiple artists, which it studies, in order to adjust itself to recognize patterns and make note of details, such as colours and techniques that are unique to a certain art style. The trained model is then put to the test against new scenarios where its learning and aptitude are ensured. The process is then repeated over time to improve the performance of the model. 

The goal of such an AI model is to provide the public with a platform to jumpstart innovation and inspire new ideas or styles by generating fresh and novel combinations of artistic expressions. It also offers the opportunity to make art incredibly accessible to everyone, prompting them to exercise their creativity. 

But, this is where things get tricky for the artists themselves.

Since AI has the ability to replicate and imitate the styles of renowned artists, it poses the threat of tarnishing the originality and uniqueness of an artwork, as well as undermining the significance it holds to its artist. Artists are also rarely accredited when AI art is sold or shared widely, forcing them into a position of exploitation. 

As AI models are trained with data scraped from a wide range of sources online, it is highly likely that an artist’s work has been used without permission, revealing that they have no authority over how or where their art is used. Complications related to copyright may also emerge, and considering that legislation pertaining to technological advancements is not consistently updated, a legal verdict regarding the rights of artists against AI model training is yet to be established, thereby rendering them vulnerable to exploitation. 

A few comments shared by artists lend us a peek at how AI art is being received by the creative community. 

“It is a disturbing reality to come to terms with the fact that a bot or software could up and “steal” our artwork. Work that we took years to master, work that some of us stayed up all night trying to perfect. It seems very unfair to allow anyone or anything else to take credit for the effort that an artist would put into their craft.” - Nadine

“AI art seems like a new low for corporations. It upsets me that people are willing to pay a quick buck for a piece of scraped art. In a way, it discounts the skills of an artist by making it look like creating art is easy and anyone can achieve it in a matter of seconds.” - Amani

“I played with a few AI art tools to see what it was about, and I quickly learnt that producing art this way can get boring very fast. It’s like cheating in a video game. There’s no real effort and the rewards are mediocre. Very many times, you will have to manipulate the output to correct mistakes made by the AI, but even then, there’s nothing you can do to make it look authentic - because it’s not! There was no soul behind that creator. It’s really just a rip off of existing art.” - Dilshan

“Seeing AI art rise in popularity nearly pushed me to give up pursuing art altogether. Why would a client want to wait weeks for a finished piece when they can get it done by simply typing it in on an AI software? The AI won’t ignore your calls or go on vacation abruptly. It seems like a perfectly efficient employee. But, it opened my eyes to something deeper. Art, to me, is more than just a job. Art to me, is feeling. Prioritizing that helped me realize that there is no one who can rob me of that.” - Heba

Given the various challenges that persist, it is crucial for artists to exercise caution when sharing their work in the digital realm.

Here are a few things to consider to protect your artwork:

Add a watermark or digital signature
Watermarks are semi-transparent logos that can be placed on top of artwork showcasing a direct sign of ownership, making it difficult to copy and distribute your work. A digital signature works similarly, by attaching hidden codes to your artwork’s file. These codes are complex to hide or remove and ownership can be verified when needed. If tampered with, the artwork is designed to invalidate the code, exposing the fraud. This may deter potential AI models from attempting to copy or use your work without permission.

Share low-resolution images or video content
By choosing to compress your images to a resolution of 72 DPI, your images will not only take less time to load on websites but will also keep it from being appropriate to scrape. AI models also struggle to analyse art in video form, so switch to uploading videos that showcase a work in progress or span your art. 

Use image-cloaking tools
Image cloaking is a technique that makes it harder for AI algorithms to learn from or replicate your artwork by tactfully modifying pixels of your work, while still keeping those changes invisible to the human eye. Confusing AI systems by making it look different to them, can hinder their ability to accurately analyse or copy your work. It is recommended that artists use tools such as Glaze to help cloak their images before sharing them on any online platform.

Adjust social media settings
To enhance privacy and control over your content, you may change your social media privacy settings to manage who your posts and data are visible. Ensure you are only allowing trusted individuals to see your artwork. As an added precaution, it is advised to read the terms of service for each social media platform and to be vigilant about where you share your work. 

Opting out
Some platforms offer options in their terms and conditions settings for users to specifically request their work not to be included in the datasets used to train AI models. By taking control of where and how your art is shared, you can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorised use. However, it is important to note that these mechanisms are still evolving and that their effectiveness can vary depending on the platform.

Take legal action when necessary
Copyright infringement occurs when a notable portion of your original work has been replicated, used to create derivative works or publicly displayed without your permission. It is viable to take legal action if you notice your artwork is used by AI models in any way. Legal action can be cumbersome and expensive, therefore, it is important to gather enough evidence that prove the unauthorised use of your artwork first. 

In an age where we doubt if a piece is created by a man or a robot, it is essential to safeguard your artwork to protect your identity. However, ensure that this protection does not hinder your ability to share your talent. In an ever-synthetic world, we must cling to what makes us human. It is emotion wrapped with expression, something only we can create.