MTG Cardsmith Community Forums
Why AI?
Well? Why?
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Comments
I am a student of computer science, who for college had a near full ride scholarship. I know what I'm talking about.
What is colloquially called "AI Art" is a misnomer on two accounts. The first is that art, by its very definition involves some creative value. More accurately these programs produce "AI Imagery". The image created has no more artistic value than the sentence used to generate it. Secondly, and perhaps the more fundamentally misunderstood point: it isn't AI. AI stands for Artificial Intelligence; an entity that can think and reason in manners similar to humans, or other sapient species. This is NOT that. This is an algorithm producing a mathematical aggregate based on sample data. There are no decisions made in its creation by the program, no creative choices. It mathematically determines averages based on millions of sample images, pixel by pixel, which is why whenever there's some details involved, it fails.
Now that that's cleared up, I would like to express my understanding and sympathy for its advocates and beneficiaries. Yes, I can see why you might find it beneficial to use a program to generate an image that gets close to approximating a concept in your head. I see the appeal, I do. I am not a talented visual artist, and I certainly do not have the time to practice and develop my artistic skills. And I understand that's true for many people.
That does not however, erase the fundamental truth of these programs. They are not ethically sourced. Where a human artist can take a reference image, and then use it to guide them, these programs, take the reference image, and turn it into data. Again, not making decisions based on it. It's more similar to making a smoothie. Everything fed into the machine gets broken down beyond recognition and turned into a slurry of the aggregate pieces.
These programs do not, and have not ever been ethically sourced in their training data. No professional artist to my knowledge, and especially not enough to feed such a program have volunteered their works for this purpose. They illegally scrape data from wherever they can, and try covering it up. There have been numerous leaks from the company behind ChatGPT exposing their public lies regarding the training data's sourcing.
Is it possible to make a program to artificially generate images in this fashion? Hypothetically, yes. If you can get enough artists to forfeit their works to be used as training, data, then yes. Hypothetically you could. There have even been attempts to do just that, but the problem is, the way they're developed is using the framework that can be licensed out by OpenAI, which as previously mentioned, got its training data illegally, and lied about it.
I understand the appeal of being able to easily get images for your card ideas, but fundamentally these programs are systemic plagiarism on an unprecedented scale, to the point where it can be obfuscated and described as "original".
Lastly, I'd like to leave you with the legal framework under which sites such as cardsmith are permitted to exist on the internet. The Creatives Commons License, put simply states that people may use one other's IP on the internet for NONCOMMERICAL purposes, but ONLY so long as they provide proper attribution to those whose works were used.
Yes, I don't illustrate the pieces I use in cards myself, and no, most of the time I'm not given explicit permission by the artist (sometimes I have but that's abnormal). However, it is legally and ethically approved, so long as I give the proper credit to the artists whose works I borrowed.
Now, let's take a look at how these generated images, and furthermore the direction of the site, has changed, such that it is in open violation of the Creatives Commons License. The frames we use on the site, are copyrighted, and as such, while to some extent can be used under creative commons license, so long as we do not use them for any commercial ventures, is now being used to sell proxies, and to print other custom cards. This fact was negligible when the companies responsible for these printings weren't associated with the Cardsmith site, but that's exactly what's happening now. The same goes for art sourced both directly, by users such as myself, or indirectly, by those using generative programs. In either case, there is flagrant disregard for the parameters under which sites like ours are allowed to operate.
Furthermore, from my time spent in the owner's circle before being ousted, I can tell you that he knows he is in violation of these legal statutes, and perhaps even the ethical considerations, though he won't admit that one. I know this because he specifically moved the business registry for Cardsmith OUT of the United States, as Copyright laws are based within national borders in case by case bases. He knows he is breaking the law, and has taken steps to avoid incurring punishment.
"AI Art" is a lie. It is neither Artificial Intelligence, nor is it art. It is an image generated through algorithmic averages to create something that appears original. It is not art, nor is it theft; as theft is too small of a term. The companies behind these programs are committing IP theft and fraud on a scale never seen before in human history. They know what they are doing and lie to everyone to cover it up.
I won't hate you for using these programs, but I hope that after reading this, you'll see why I have little to no respect for these programs' users and advocates.