A famous photographer showed how AI can easily copy his copyrighted images. This case draws attention to the need to protect artists' works in the age of AI.
Tim Flach, famous for his expressive animal photos, experimented with Midjourney, an AI image generator. To his surprise, he found that the AI could easily recreate his own photos. Flach, whose name was on an artist list targeted by Midjourney, shares AI versions of his works with PetaPixel. These reproductions highlight AI's incredible ability to imitate artistic style and illustrate the copyright implications.
Recreate your own images with AI, e.g. B. Mid-journey
The controversy revolves around the use of works by AIs like Midjourney are available for their training. A British photographer known for his expressive wildlife images has successfully recreated his own photos using Midjourney AI. This proves the precision of artificial intelligence.
To support his argument, Tim Flach showed two of his photos PetaPixels. He then reproduced it via Midjourney by typing his name. The very convincing results demonstrate the AI's ability to accurately mimic the style of a famous photographer.
A photographer whose name was found on a list of artists whose style AI image generator Midjourney wanted to emulate tells PetaPixel that “creatives need to be compensated.”https://t.co/uP9d90T383
— PetaPixel (@petapixel) January 24, 2024
The ease with which AI reproduces works raises questions about intellectual property protection. The photographer suggests a model “Registration” for the use of the works. This model would reverse the current “unsubscribe” model. He compares this approach to publishing photos in a magazine. In this case, obtaining permission from the photographer is an essential step.
The economic impact on artists
The economic costs to artists are crucial to this issue. In fact, the photographer has invested a lot in his projects and attached importance to fair remuneration. This is particularly relevant when the AI uses its own image. According to him, the danger lies in this Improving AI technology.
Little by little, the artists' unique style could be copied. And that without recognition or compensation. He calls this phenomenon “Process image brightening” Or “data laundering”. In addition, it poses a serious threat to creative people.
On the other hand, the potential value of Midjourney is estimated at 10 billion dollars. This contrasts with the insecurity of the artists contributing to these technologies. Flach's example is telling. He recreated his own photos on Midjourney. This shows how easily AI generates stylized images. His experiments show the current performance of AI. They also point to future potential. It is believed that AI could become exponentially more powerful.
The current situation involves a lawsuit against Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. This reflects a broader conflict between art and technology. The central issue is the control of authors over their original works. This ongoing case highlights the challenges artists face. You are facing a world that is increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence.