AI Art: Copyrights or Wrongs?

AI tools like DALL-E, MidJourney, and Stable Diffusion are reshaping the art world by generating incredible visuals based on simple text prompts. These tools rely on vast datasets of existing artwork to "learn" styles, techniques, and concepts. While many celebrate AI for democratizing creativity and making art accessible to everyone, artists are raising serious concerns. They argue that AI often replicates their work without permission, potentially violating copyright laws.

A notable case in early 2023 involved a group of artists suing Stability AI and MidJourney, claiming these platforms infringed on their intellectual property by using their artwork to train AI without consent. Another controversy erupted when an AI-generated artwork won first place in a Colorado State Fair art competition, sparking debates over whether AI-generated art should compete alongside human creations.

Additionally, AI's ability to create fake artworks indistinguishable from those by famous artists has led to concerns about forgery. For example, in 2022, an AI-generated image of a non-existent "Baroque master" fooled art enthusiasts online. These events raise critical questions: Who owns AI-generated art? Should the creator of the prompt, the AI platform, or the original artists whose work trained the system hold the rights?

Click here to visit a website that tests you on whether or not you can correctly identify the human or AI artwork.Your Task: Imagine you are part of a roundtable discussion at an art council meeting. Discuss your perspectives on the following questions:

• Should AI-generated art be considered "real" art? Why or why not?

• Who owns AI-generated art — the person writing the prompt, the AI company, or the artists whose work trained the model?

• Should AI art be allowed to compete in human art contests?

• How can we protect human artists from unfair competition or copyright violations caused by AI art?

Write a paragraph or create a poster summarizing your stance on one of these issues. Think about how AI impacts creativity, fairness, and the future of art ownership. Would you implement laws to regulate AI art? If so, what would they include?