AI Witch Hunt
AI generated content is everywhere. It's seeped into platforms that used to be for artists, and training data was built on work that should have been opt-in. I get why people are angry, art was stolen.
If they used any of my art to train AI, I'm part of why they can't do hands or feet! Don't believe me? How about an example?
So, to the folks who like AI generated art: Sorry about that, my bad.
And to the folks who hate AI stuff: Viva La Résistance!
Yes, that weirdly claw-like thing on the left is supposed to be a foot. A human foot, mind you. The version on the right actually looks closer. Why? Because it's a tracing of my actual foot. If I want decent hands or feet, I trace them first and work from there, which means I have a lot of weird pictures of my hands and feet on my phone. If the police ever confiscate it, I just know I'll be the one they bring in the psych professional for the interview. Ah, how I suffer for my meager contributions to the art world.
Is it a problem that AI floods marketplaces where real artists are trying to sell their work? Absolutely. Are real artists losing sales? Yes, I’ve even been impacted, and it sucks. But, and this might be a hard pill to swallow: the prompt jockeys were likely never going to be customers for those who do commission work. That revenue was never real.
But the bullying that happens because of AI saturating the market is very real, and it starts at the slightest hint that something isn't genuine. Then people are attacked over what amounts to a guess. It's gross. You can't always tell. Even if you put art that you know was created before 2022 (when most AI generators launched, according to Google) through a detector, you'll get a "This is possible AI" confirmation back. At that point, you're just trying to disprove a negative, and that's a stupid game no one can win.
Speaking of stupid games no one can win, I'm sure some people will see this post and say, "Oh, she's defending herself, that's proof!" But the flipside of that is, if I said nothing, they'd say "Oh, she didn't defend herself, it's proof!" too. So, again, can't fucking win. But this really bothered me, so I'm posting about it.
You see, a woman named Pauline accused me of using AI, claiming the hands in my artwork were "clearly AI." Here are the offending appendages that outraged her:
Was it my best? No. I still think they were a damn sight better than that claw foot above. Truth is, I wanted to get the post, and my thoughts on that particular doll, out in a timely fashion and I didn't really care if the hands looked a bit messy. But apparently, the reality wasn't good enough for this "very professional" artist, and she made her accusation.
Then there's Panayiota, who was upset about the scale in an image. So upset, in fact, that she decided to ignore the disclaimer written at the bottom…
No, I didn't draw the scale myself. I asked GPT to generate it because it's a functional element, not artwork, and yes, it screwed up some of the numbers. That doesn't make the whole image AI. The disclaimer is in fairly plain English, so I'm not sure what she wants me to do. She did, however, block me on social media. I returned the favor, gladly.
The truth is, if either of them wanted to protect art, they could have reached out privately. They didn't. They wanted an audience. Very mean girl energy. Don't worry, I don't want to sit at your table, so you don't have to stress about me not wearing pink on Wednesdays. But just know, I match energy. You wanted an audience? You got one. I'm done tiptoeing around people who bully others and then instantly block you to escape accountability.
I didn't just appear out of nowhere. I grew up drawing, badly copying my dad from about age six. He's a professional illustrator. Lord of the Rings calendars. Dune trading cards. Comic book covers featuring Batman, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, and more. He's pretty famous in artistic circles. And yet someone once accused one of his paintings, from the 1980s, of being AI generated. If he had a time machine, I think I would have noticed.
As for my stuff? Well, here are two sketches I posted on this blog in 2018 and 2020:
🗡️ Queen Hippolyta In Action, posted in 2018
&
🐉 The Dragon Queen, posted in 2020
I'm just a scribbly person doing her best. Yes, my style evolves and yes, it absolutely varies depending on medium and hand tremor severity. Some days it's pen or pencil, sometimes paint, and more and more lately I'm working on my tablet because it's more forgiving. I get to work in layers. The undo button exists. That's still not AI.
Here's what really got to me, though. After the accusations, I started second-guessing everything. I have a project coming up that I'm really excited about, and my first thought was, "Should I even share it?"
That's not protecting art.
That's stifling it.
If you're someone who's been accused of this, I see you. It sucks. It's demoralizing. And I'm sorry.
And if you're someone who goes around making these accusations? What caused you to be so miserable that you chose to become a bully? We’re human beings, with feelings. Just because you can’t see us cry doesn’t mean we don’t. I hope that matters to you, but I'm guessing it doesn't and you don't really give a damn about anyone, so long as you get to feel righteous and superior. My wish for you is that you get treated exactly how you treat others. If there's nothing wrong with your ick-inducing behavior, that shouldn't upset you.
To the rest of my dear readers, I hope you’re having a better day than I did.
