AI Art and Ethics: SOP

Advanced Research Seminar 2

Diya Sahni | JYCD-B
 Introduction
AI art refers to artworks created with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms and
techniques. It involves using computer programs to generate, enhance, or manipulate
images, music, or other forms of media. AI has revolutionized the way we create art.
With the help of machine learning algorithms, AI can create unique and seemingly
original artworks within a matter of seconds. AI art can be created autonomously or in
collaboration with humans, and the level of autonomy can vary. The technology behind
AI is based on simulating human cognition, learning, and mimicking abilities.

The AI algorithms derive their knowledge from the datasets that are fed to them. They
analyze and learn from the information provided, and then generate outputs that are
unique and original. It can create the desired outcome in high quality and in a matter of
seconds. Additionally, it can be a very helpful tool for students, entrepreneurs,
businesses, and individuals across a plethora of fields and professions. While AI art has
immense potential in the fields of both art and technology, it is a double edged sword
and raises several ethical concerns.

The use of AI in art has been met with opposition from various creative communities,
which see it as a threat to their livelihoods. AI-generated art that takes only seconds to
create can undermine the years of training and effort that artists put into their craft.
Moreover, the use of datasets for AI art violates data privacy since these databases
are not always legitimate and are not built to be used on such a large scale. This leads to
unethical usage of people's images without their content, and as a result, deepfaking,
the use of AI to create fake videos or images, has become a significant problem that
poses a serious threat to public trust and safety. Additionally, the lack of credit given to
artists whose work is being used by AI art generators raises issues of copyright
infringement, while most copyright laws are unhelpful against AI.

Despite these challenges, AI art continues to grow in popularity, and artists are finding
new ways to collaborate with AI systems to produce innovative works. It is essential to
address the ethical concerns surrounding AI art to ensure that this technology is used
for the betterment of society while protecting artists' rights and the privacy of
individuals.

Personal Interest
The advent of the use of AI to create art in various media is something that is being
actively talked about in the mainstream contemporary art and design world. As
someone who is aspiring to make a career in the art and design industry, the topic of
AI-generated art has piqued my interest. I believe it is crucial to stay up-to-date with the
latest developments in the field, as they have the potential to impact my future career.
Hence, I have undertaken extensive research on this issue to gain a deeper
understanding of how AI generates art, the methods it uses, and what problems it
might be creating and solving.

As this is a relatively new topic, there is not much research available on public
platforms, and understanding the reactions of other artists and designers is crucial.
Through collaboration and dialogue with peers in the industry, we can improve the
current state of AI-generated art and ensure that it remains a tool for creative
expression rather than a threat to human creativity.

02 AI Art and Ethics

 Research Questions
How might we bridge the ethical and legal gap created by the currently existing
AI art generators?
What kind of future do AI art generators have in the design industry?
To what extent do these platforms use data unethically, and how can it be
curbed?
Newer technology has always replaced human jobs; what makes AI any
different?

Primary Research
The primary research was conducted using an anonymous survey consisting of 11
questions to gather information on AI art and its generators. The first two questions
focused on collecting demographic information such as age and occupation to
understand which groups of people were being affected by the rise of AI art the most.
The survey aimed to analyze the extent to which people were using AI art generators
and their opinions on the ethics of AI art.

The survey was filled out by 132 people from across the world, with the majority being
Indian citizens. The subsequent questions in the survey aimed at gauging people's
awareness about AI art, whether they knew of its existence, whether they had
experienced it firsthand by using AI art generators, and whether they understood the
methods used by AI to generate the art we see. The remaining questions aimed to elicit
people's perspectives on the ethical implications of AI art. Specifically, the survey
sought to understand whether respondents considered AI art to be a beneficial and
ethical development, and whether they believed it had the potential to replace human
jobs.

Upon analyzing the survey responses, the following observations were made:
All individuals within the age range of under 18 to 24 had encountered AI art in some
form. However, the majority of those within the age range of 36-50+ were not aware
of AI art, including the methods used to generate it.
Out of the 130 respondents, 20 had used AI to create art, with students using it for
fun, creative individuals using it for process work, and entrepreneurs using it for
social media marketing.
The majority of respondents believed in the potential of AI art generators as a useful
tool.
Approximately 50% of the respondents believed AI art to be unethical, citing
concerns around the use of copyrighted material without proper attribution,

“The artwork on the internet is the copyrighted work of individual artists and photographers -
using that to create images is a breach of that and is definitely unethical.”

“Art often fed to ai without artist’s consent - generated images = an amalgamation of art by
uncredited people - no creative/purposeful creation process involved - ai generator users
credited without having almost any influence on the resulting product - ai generator users steal
artist’s jobs - heartless/soulless mass produced products - art is not just the end result but the

03 AI Art and Ethics

 process and the thought behind it => AI generated images unethical bc recipients of art are
robbed of this in almost all cases (here an exception might be possible, see last field; still
unethical unless all artists whose art was used are credited, or just the generator’s user’s own art
is used in the process of generating images)”

Some respondents also believed that AI art cannot be considered real or true art
due to the absence of human emotion and creativity.

“Art is an expression of human emotion, and hence anything generated by an AI cannot truly be
called "art."

“Art portrays the thinking of an artist. AI generated art is just that - artificial - the thinking behind
it is not a single artist’s, but something “learned” from multiple inputs.”

19% of respondents believed the ethics of AI art to be a gray area, saying that the
generation of art through AI could be ethical if certain limitations were applied to it.
31% of respondents believed AI art to be ethical, primarily consisting of
entrepreneurs.
The vast majority of respondents (87%) did not believe that AI has the ability to
completely replace human artists, with some suggesting that AI-generated images
could only be a component of an artwork but not real art. As one respondent
quotes:

“Generated images might replace some artist’s work insofar as businesses may choose to go
this less expensive route instead of hiring artists, who will in turn lose jobs. AI images cannot,
however, replace art on an artistic, emotional level—meaning any recipient of art/media suffers
as well. I can imagine an exception—some work of art in which AI generated images are a
component. for example if the work makes a statement about AI art, the digital age etc… or if the
artist “remixed” (just a random example) childhood and recent photos… But only if the random,
hardly influenced by the creator generation was the point, had a meaning/a purpose in the
process of creating the artwork. AI images by themselves can’t replace and aren’t art. Unless
you mean art in the purely decorative sense, in which case they might get utilised but still will
lack the creative, emotional and purposeful aspects.”

The Birth of Venus, made by Botticelli. The Birth of Venus, made by AICAN.
(Image: researchgate.net) (Image: aican.io)

04 AI Art and Ethics

 Literature Review
Artificial intelligence (AI) has had a significant impact on research and creative
practices in the visual arts, leading to an increase in research initiatives and creative
applications that merge AI and art. One way that AI is used to generate new art is by
feeding a dataset of existing artwork through a neural network, which trains the
algorithm to learn common patterns and features in the art. Once trained, the
algorithm can generate new art based on a random seed or input, using diffusion to
create an output. Additional algorithms, like style transfer and image filtering, are used
to refine the output, with the machine trained to balance novelty and adherence to
established aesthetics.

On October 25, 2018, a portrait generated by a machine learning (ML) algorithm called
a generative adversarial network (or GAN) sold at Christie’s art auction for $432,500.
As Christie’s initial estimate for the piece was $10,000, its sale for over 40 times this
expectation shocked the art world. Marketed by Christie’s as ‘‘the first portrait
generated by an algorithm to come up for auction,’’ the painting entitled ‘Edmond de
Belamy’ struck a chord about the nature of authorship and artificial intelligence (AI)
(Cohn, 2018).

Parisian art collective Obvious created this "Portrait of Edmond De Belamy" using
artificial intelligence. (Image credit: Ovious)

AI art is never created solely by algorithms. Even the artwork "Edmond de Belamy"
involved human contributions, raising questions about who should take responsibility
when AI creates something great or problematic. Who gets the credit for AI art—the
technology, the artist, or the technologist—is still an ongoing debate in this sphere.
Therefore, it is crucial for artists, computer scientists, and the media to be aware of
their language's power and for the public to consume discerningly. AI's emergence has
brought about concerns regarding safety, control, responsibility, and human-machine
relationships. Properly handling these challenges requires strengthening research on
AI ethics to maximize its benefits for humanity.

The debate around whether or not artwork produced using AI can be considered art is
often rooted in a narrow definition of art as the product of individual human creativity.
However, this understanding of art is a culturally-specific and a relatively recent

05 AI Art and Ethics

 concept. Art has been made for various reasons and under diverse circumstances
throughout history, often by groups of people and for patrons or institutions.

It is true that AI cannot replicate the lived experience of a human being and therefore
cannot create art in the same way that human artists do. Humans and AI have different
sources of inspiration and intentions for art making. The machine's motivation is to
solve the problem of making art and fulfill the task it has been assigned. However, this
does not disqualify the results of the process as viable works of art.

Ultimately, the definition of art should be broad enough to accommodate the diverse
ways in which art is created and experienced. AI-generated artwork challenges
traditional notions of authorship and creativity, but it also offers new possibilities for
artistic expression and exploration. By expanding our definition of art, we can
appreciate the unique qualities of AI-generated artwork and explore its potential as a
new form of artistic creation.

On the flip side, AI coding and algorithms is only as good as the data that has been fed
to it. It can create bias and stereotypes, as seen in the example of DALL-E 2, where it was
seen producing images of men for lawyer prompts and women for nurse prompts. The
source of bias is usually the learning material provided to the program or user input,
and even if the algorithm improves, the users might perpetuate stereotypes. There are
also concerns about diversity and user privacy if user data is accessed for the
prompts.

AI art generators allow users to render public figures in positions and settings that
could be deemed offensive or simply implausible. Furthermore, even if the average
person can distinguish AI renderings from real images, some people might think a
meme generated by them actually happened. These artificial pictures can cause
reputational damage for professionals and celebrities, and they can have national
security implications for politicians and leaders. They also pose a threat to the
credibility and accountability of the media we consume these days.

Some artists see AI as a tool that can boost their productivity by inspiring initial ideas
or steps towards a finished product. However, others reject the idea of AI in art due to
technophobia, a lack of understanding, and the fear that machines will dominate art. It
is important to note that AI is limited in what it can do in terms of art creation, and a
fruitful partnership between an artist and a creative AI system is the best outcome.

In conclusion, AI has the potential to revolutionize the art world, but it also presents
significant challenges. As we continue to explore the creative and explorative potentials
of AI technologies in the context of art, it is crucial for artists, computer scientists, and
the media to be aware of their language's power and for the public to consume
discerningly. We must also prioritize research on AI ethics to ensure that we maximize
its benefits for humanity and minimize its risks. Ultimately, expanding our definition of
art to include AI-generated artwork allows us to appreciate its unique qualities and
explore its potential as a new form of artistic creation.

Portraits made by a neural network

that studied thousands of paintings.
(Image: TOM SIMONITE)

06 AI Art and Ethics

 Key Findings
AI art generators produce high quality images within seconds and are easily
available to anyone with a device and an internet connection.
The use of artificial intelligence brings new challenges to economic and social
development, including concerns about job displacement, ownership, safety,
control, and responsibility.
Like any artistic medium, it has its potential for piracy, theft, and misuse, as well as
social impacts.
Visuals generated by artificial intelligence involve the algorithmization of emotion
and creativity, and the emergence of artificial intelligence in art requires rethinking
the laws of beauty, the relationship between art and technology, reason, and human
liberation.
Ethical and Legal research in the field of artificial intelligence art is inadequate and
needs to be strengthened to lay a foundation for regulating and promoting artistic
works and promoting the normative development of the art market.
When it comes to AI art's contents, the pictures could be harmful or offensive, but
the possibility of AI deepfake videos makes this risk even greater. The generated
material may also contain biases as a result of the code's reliance on human input
and a sizable collection of reference photos.
Many artists and art historians resist seeing work created with AI as art because
their definition of art is based on the modern artist figure as the sole locus of art
creation and creativity.
Machine learning and AI cannot replicate the lived experience of a human being;
therefore, AI is not able to create art in the same way that human artists do.
Some consider AI art to be more than just a tool, like a brush with oil paint on it, while
some consider it to be just that.

Key Insights
AI, despite its advanced capabilities, cannot act without human intervention. It is
ultimately a tool that is programmed by humans and requires human input to
function. While AI algorithms can be designed to learn and adapt on their own, they
still lack true creativity of their own.
The quality of AI-generated art is heavily dependent on the data that has been fed to
it. If the data is biased or limited, then the AI-generated art will reflect those biases
and limitations. This underscores the importance of ensuring that the data used to
train AI systems is diverse and representative of different perspectives.
Rather than a rival to human creativity, AI art generators can be treated as a tool for
improved creativity and efficiency. With the assistance of AI-generated art, artists
can explore new forms of expression and push the boundaries of what is possible.
Additionally, AI can assist in the creation process by automating certain tasks,
freeing up more time for artists to focus on the creative aspects of their work.
However, as a relatively new concept, AI is surrounded by moral, ethical and legal
ambiguity. It is important for society to carefully consider these issues as
AI-generated art becomes more prevalent, and to develop guidelines and
regulations to ensure that the use of AI in the art world is ethical and equitable.

07 AI Art and Ethics

 The development of AI-generated art is a complex and multifaceted issue. On the one
hand, AI-generated art has the potential to revolutionize the art world, making it
more accessible to a wider audience and providing new opportunities for artists.
Additionally, AI-generated art can allow for the creation of intricate and complex
artworks that would be difficult or impossible for human artists to create.
On the other hand, there are concerns that AI-generated art could lead to the
displacement of human artists and that it may lack the emotional depth and
creativity of human-generated art. Additionally, there are ethical concerns
regarding the use of AI in the art world, such as the potential for bias and the lack of
transparency in the creation process.
The debate on whether AI-generated art is good or bad will likely never end, as it
ultimately depends on one's perspective and values. What may be beneficial for one
part of society may be detrimental to another.
It is unlikely that AI-generated art will become obsolete in the near future. In fact, its
use and generation will likely only increase as technology continues to advance.
Therefore, it is important to raise awareness about AI art and its potential benefits
and drawbacks.

Proposed Outcome
Based on the primary and secondary research, it seems that people generally have a
positive view of AI-generated art, provided that it is created in an ethical and
responsible manner. One key concern is the possibility of AI-generated art infringing
on copyright and stealing from other artists. As long as the AI-generated art does not
take from existing artwork, people tend to be accepting of it.

Additionally, there is a desire for AI-generated art to be used in a limited and controlled
way, as there is some apprehension about the technology's potential impact on the art
world. Many people feel that AI-generated art can be used in a limited fashion to assist
human artists in their work. For example, AI-generated art can be used as a tool for
inspiration, providing artists with new ideas and concepts to explore. It can also be
used to create preliminary sketches or mockups, allowing artists to experiment with
different designs and compositions.

Photorealistic AI art tool powered by the GauGAN2 AI model. (Image: NVIDIA).

The final outcome can be the creation of a website that includes an AI art generating
platform that art and design students can use to aid their work, make their process
easier and less time consuming, and to allow for improved and enhanced creativity. The
dataset that is fed to this system will include only open source images (eg. images from

08 AI Art and Ethics

 Unspalsh, Pexels, Freepik, etc). Additionally, artists and designers can choose to upload
their work on the platform and contribute to the dataset for students to use. Some
monetary compensation and/or due credit can be given to the artists after intensive
research on the topic and conversations with experts from the field. To ensure proper
usage of this platform by students, a valid student ID can be required at the time of
signing up for the website. Certain limitations on the prompts thet can be input can also
be applied, as they were in the first version of DALL-E. The users can input image and
text prompts. Overall this website can be a platform that encourages collaboration
among artists and can be something useful for students like me.

Research Methodolgy
Based on the research questions and the literature review, further research can be
approached through both, qualitative and quantitative methods. This could include a
qualitative research approach (such as interviews or case studies) or a quantitative
research approach (such as surveys or experiments).

Qualitative research can be conducted through interviews and focus groups to

understand the perspectives and experiences of artists, critics, and audiences about
the ethical implications of using AI in creating art. Interviews with students, artists,
curators, and other stakeholders in the AI art community can be conducted.
Interviews with technologists who can shed light on the process of AI art generation
can also yield useful information. Additionally, an interview with an individual who might
have in-depth knowledge of copyright laws can also be conducted to learn more about
the legal aspect of this issue. This will provide a more holistic view of the topic.

Data can be collected from various sources, including academic journals, books and
online resources. Data can also be collected through case studies of AI art projects and
exhibitions, and AI art generators like DALL-E 2 or Midjourney. These case studies can
also include the case of ‘Edmond de Belamy’, German artist Boris Eldagsen AI generated
photo, etc.

Qualitative data can be analyzed using thematic analysis, discourse analysis, and
content analysis. This should help to identify patterns and themes in the data that relate
to the research questions.

Quantitative research methods, such as surveys and experiments, can be used to

measure the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of artists, critics, and audiences towards
AI art. This will help to provide a more statistically valid view of the topic. For instance,
surveys can be conducted to collect data on the extent to which people agree or
disagree with the use of AI in art. The data collected from quantitative research can be
analyzed using statistical analysis, such as regression analysis and correlation
analysis, to identify relationships between variables.

Combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods can provide a more
comprehensive understanding of the ethical implications of AI art and the attitudes and
perspectives of the stakeholders involved.

Overall, the methodology for a paper on AI art and Ethics should be interdisciplinary,
drawing on insights from fields such as philosophy, art history, computer science, and
social sciences .

09 AI Art and Ethics

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10 AI Art and Ethics