Image search results for AI generated artworks
Following the move by online art communities not to accept imagery created by artificial intelligence, Getty Images is set to follow suit and ban the submission of such content to their stock image library.
Getty Images is a renowned American visual media company that supplies stock images, editorial photography, music, and video for consumers and businesses. It counts more than 477 million assets in its multi-media collection.
The company cited “unaddressed rights issues” that may further cloud present copyright laws. It said it will start removing current AI-generated images from its platform, including those created through popular AI sites and programs like Stable Diffusion, DALL-E 2, and MidJourney.
Getty Images CEO Craig Peters told CNET the move will be a continuing effort. Any images in their library that do not have signed property, model, and biometric releases will be removed. The same goes for submissions since AI works normally can’t comply with said requirements.
Furthermore, the majority of works generated by AI programs are sampled from existing images online. These images may or may not be copyrighted, making it hard for Getty Images to determine if there are infringements in regulations.
Shutterstock, another popular stock image depository, has also been observed to remove AI-generated images, as reported by Vice.com. Recent searches on their website for images with tags such as “Midjourney” only produce a Shutterstock logo, unlike before when you’ll be presented with unmistakably AI works.
This direction by leading stock agencies comes on the heels of developments in the online art community. In particular, Inkblot Art and Newgrounds laid out “barriers-to-entry” which are a modification to their terms of service to curb the submission of AI-generated artworks.
Visual artists and art groups took to social media to voice their non-tolerance of AI art. This was after the uproar when weeks earlier an individual won first place in the fine art competition of the Colorado State Fair, despite admitting that the winning piece was created with the AI art software MidJourney.
