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More than 3,000 artists have written to protest against plans by Christie’s to auction art created using artificial intelligence in the latest backlash by the creative industries against the threat posed by generative AI models.
In a letter to the auction house, the artists expressed “serious concern” that many of the artworks being sold were created using AI models that were known to be trained on copyrighted work without a licence.
While many in the creative industries from music to film, media and art have no objection to the development of AI models — and often use such tools in their own work — they are worried that many of the most popular do not pay for copyrighted materials. These can be used to train AI models that can replicate or even replace the original work.
“These models, and the companies behind them, exploit human artists, using their work without permission or payment to build commercial AI products that compete with them,” the letter said. “Your support of these models, and the people who use them, rewards and further incentivises AI companies’ mass theft of human artists’ work.”
Christie’s inaugural AI art auction, called Augmented Intelligence, claims to be the first artificial intelligence-dedicated sale at a major auction house featuring works by artists using AI models. The auction will take place in New York.
AI art is a growing area of the market, defined as any art that has been created or enhanced with AI tools. Nicole Sales Giles, director of digital art at Christie’s, said AI was “not a substitute for human creativity . . . It enhances the human spectrum of creativity”.
In response to the letter, Christie’s said that “the artists represented in this sale all have strong, existing multidisciplinary art practices, some recognised in leading museum collections. The works in this auction are using artificial intelligence to enhance their bodies of work.”
Musician and artist Ed Newton-Rex, one of the letter’s signatories and founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit creators’ rights group, said AI companies were using other artists’ work without permission or payment, however.
“I don’t blame artists for using these. But Christie’s selling these works for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars is an implicit condoning of the exploitation behind the AI products involved. I find this pretty sickening at a time when so many artists are seeing their livelihoods destroyed by these very same products.”
The auction highlights the complex debate in the creative industry over AI, with artists divided about the use of AI and whether the technology will become a key tool in the creative process. Other parts of the art community have supported the sale, with some even taking the petition and creating pieces of digital art using the words and images.
The argument over technology and art is the latest flashpoint ahead of the conclusion of a consultation into AI and creative industries by the UK government.
Under the proposals, the UK government would offer an exemption to copyright laws, letting technology companies use material ranging from music and books to media and photos to train AI models unless the rights holder objects under a “rights reservation” system.
These plans have alarmed companies across the music, film making, art and media industries given the “opt out” system could be costly and difficult to police.