The art community is up in arms over AI creations on ArtStation

We are standing on the precipice of a brand-new age of technological advancement. Machinery has already taken over massive industries that used to rely on human labor, but now, artificial intelligence is coming for human creativity. It looks like ArtStation is in the crossfire for using AI artwork in a community of artists.

ArtStation is easily the most important repository when it comes to inspiration and digital art assets. For this reason, ArtStation is a favorite of artists and people in artistic professions the world over. However, ArtStation is currently the setting of a war against technology due to missing regulations that have resulted in the platform becoming home to art generated by AI. 

The protest has resulted in ArtStation’s home page looking abysmal thanks to artists posting an anti-AI poster repeatedly. The poster currently being spammed all over ArtStation’s website was originally created by Alexander Nanitchkov. The image has been spammed so much that it’s all but completely taken over the ArtStation home page. 

The core issue is this: ArtStation is a website for artists. Artists take pride in their work due to the amount of effort, practice, and passion each piece demands. There are many factors that give art its value in modern society, and on that list are originality and the fact that art takes so much time and effort. This allowance of AI art on a platform where artists are meant to be able to showcase their hard work feels like a perversion of the industry, and the start of a very dark future for those who rely on their artistic talent as a form of income generation.

ArtStation’s overlords at Epic Games have issued a statement, but it hardly says anything helpful nor provides a solution for the growing problem of the inclusion of AI-generated content on artistic platforms. ‘ArtStation’s content guidelines do not prohibit the use of AI tools in the process of creating artwork that is shared with the community. That said, ArtStation is a portfolio platform designed to elevate and celebrate originality powered by a community of artists. Users’ portfolios should only feature artwork that they create, and we encourage users to be transparent in the process.’

Of course, ArtStation isn’t the only culprit. Apps like Prisma, Ai Art, Wonder, Reface, and Faceplay may all be in trouble in some form or another for similar activities.

If you don’t want to see AI-generated art listed on art exchanges and repositories, the only thing you can do at the moment is report any AI-generated art you find. Hopefully, we’ll have a better idea of what the future of this AI-generated art movement looks like. And, hopefully, platforms put rules in place that stops this perversion from putting artists out of business. If you’re interested in this topic, take a look at our exploration into whether AI-generated content is actually an art.