Thousands of creators demanded ArtStation to remove AI content from the website.
Over the past few hours, a new trend emerged on ArtStation among the platform's creators, who united in protest against AI-generated images in general and its presence on the ArtStation website in particular.
Thousands of 2D and 3D Artists, representatives of all branches of digital art imaginable, have posted the same image, attached above, and demanded that ArtStation removes AI content from the website, citing multiple reasons for it to do so, including the fact that generated images diminish the work of human creators and make it harder for employers to find talent on the platform.
"Regardless of all the other discussions and problems with AI art: ArtStation is simply not the place for it. At least not without a proper tagging and filtering system," commented 2D Art Lead at SMITE Jon Neimeister. "This is the primary hub where art directors look for talent to hire for their projects. If it becomes flooded with AI art, the art directors and the artists will leave and a new site will replace ArtStation."
"First and foremost, ArtStation is a professional place for artists in the entertainment industry to display their work. I don't think it's merely enough to filter and tag these entries. They should be banned from the website entirely," stated Cinematic Storyboard Artist and Concept Artist Jessie Lam. "The over-proliferation of AI-generated images [that already steal and scrape from this website among many others] drowns out those creative voices and puts up a disingenuous front for other professionals and Art Directors to be exposed to as they look for hires and collaborators. It is a colossal waste of their time and money and this website's server space."
"AI-generated images have no place on a website dedicated to hosting portfolios of artwork created by humans. ArtStation needs to implement clear policies and guidelines against AI-generated works. The technology works on theft, plain and simple. Artists do not need to compete with automated slop built off the backs of their hard work. Protect the artists who help your site thrive," said Andrew Menjivar, a Senior Concept Artist at Blizzard Entertainment.
"AI work has been becoming more and more common on ArtStation and it has become a flood that takes attention away from human artists," noted Digital Sculptor George Crudo. "This is a professional portfolio site where people come to hire humans, not AI art generators. Raw AI art does not really belong on here without limitations or tagging that prevent it from taking over the primary intended users of the site."
A renowned filmmaker Guillermo del Toro also recently gave his two cents on the matter, saying that he's not interested in an "illustration made by machines" and calling AI art "an insult to life itself."
UPD: ArtStation has released a public statement responding to the protest and sharing how they plan to deal with questions about artist permissions and AI art generators, you can read it by clicking this link.
What do you think about this protest? Should ArtStation ban AI content from the website? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
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