Recent times highlight a transformative landscape including art and media. Generative artificial intelligence, or AI, introduced a new medium for individuals to create content such as text, image, video and other formats. This expedited process, compared to traditional content creating methods like graphic designing, photography and writing, raises recent concerns regarding intellectual property. In December 2023, the New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement; the Times claims the companies illegally used the Times’ protected information to train large language models.
The documentary features two artists, South Florida portrait photographer Christopher Castillo and Ariel Baron-Robbins, facilitating different styles and visions. Generative AI broke boundaries for individuals like Baron-Robbins to develop art through prompting AI. On the contrary, Castillo, better known as Christography, faces challenges in navigating against this new medium. How does generative AI challenge smaller or independent creatives, and how do companies employ copyright laws against generative AI companies for compensation?
Baron-Robbins argues why generative AI is fair use and authentic for creating content. “Five billion images… your work better be pretty famous to even say in the style of blank as their prompt for an AI,” says Baron-Robbins.
We spoke to experts and enthusiasts regarding the issue to provide insight on the hidden challenges and opportunities generative AI holds. The complex issue is backed by strong arguments on both sides but striking a balance between generative AI and traditional artists is crucial as society navigates an evolving era for content and media.
