Kickstarter Changes Guidelines for AI Projects on the Platform

Popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has released a statement regarding its stance on AI-generated images and their use on the website.

In the statement, Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor said that the platform has paid attention to user feedback and wishes to let the public know that Kickstarter "must, and will always be, on the side of creative work and the humans behind that work."

Taylor noted that the platform is currently "considering when it comes to what place AI image generation software and AI-generated art should have on Kickstarter, if any." He added that for now, Kickstarter will be evaluating which AI artwork can stay on the platform depending on if a project is copying or mimicking an artist’s work.

Those situations include when an artwork with a straightforward copyright claim is featured on a Kickstarter project page as well as when an artwork with a previous copyright claim doesn't appear on a platform page but is still used in the training data for AI software.

Kickstarter will also evaluate if an AI project exploits or puts anyone in harm like the projects that promote "discrimination, bigotry, or intolerance towards marginalized groups."

Kickstarter's statement was issued shortly after users started complaining about the Unstable Diffusion project that was running a crowdfunding campaign on the platform.

The project was set to create an "expressive and dynamic AI art model that can better handle human anatomy, generate in diverse and controllable artistic styles, represent under-trained concepts like LGBTQ and races and genders more fairly, and allow the creation of artistically beautiful body and sex positive images."

People have started to pressure Kickstarter into removing the Unstable Diffusion project from the platform expressing their concerns that it could threaten artists’ careers as well as pointing out that the tool is able to create abusive content such as nonconsensual pornography.

Kickstarter eventually suspended the Unstable Diffusion campaign and noted that any money that the project raised will be returned to the funders.

Kickstarter is not the only platform that expressed its stance on the use of AI software. Last week, ArtStation has shared its position on the matter saying that it plans to update its Terms of Service to "disallow the use of art by AI where the artist has chosen to disallow it." This followed artists' protest against AI-generated images and their presence on the ArtStation.

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