Is AI taking over the art industry and is it another form of plagiarism ?

I look into how AI is currently being used within the arts and how AI could potentially affect creative careers such as traditional painters; due to this new influx of modern technology in the art world, and the ever changing definition of art.

Is AI taking over the art industry and is it another form of plagiarism ?

Is AI taking over the art industry and Is it a different form of Plagiarism?

I have chosen this topic as my arts issue as I wish to pursue an artistic career, and I want to see whether this is a viable career if AI takes over the market.  I am also interested to see whether AI art is also classed as some kind of Plagiarism.  The following questions were posed to one of my peers and she shared the following views on this issue. 

Interview with Gracie-May: 

What do you think about AI? = “ It can be cool but also scary, with what it is capable of doing.”

What do you think of AI being to create art? = “It can be quick to make, and you can create things that people aren’t capable of or haven’t thought of, no materials that are normally used are needed so you can save money so more people can have access to it.”

Do you think AI is a form of plagiarism? = “Not if it’s just using AI for inspiration for their art and not as a complete copy, but everyone uses other people’s art for inspiration anyway.”

Do you think AI will take away jobs from traditional artists? = “No because people still want your traditional artwork pieces and not AI generated, because it’s almost like a different style. However, it can streamline the process but lack depth in the final piece.”

Overall, do you AI is a positive thing for the arts industry? = “yes, because AI isn’t real it can have a lack of depth that only artists can pick up on.” 

Interview with Alexa: 

What do you think about AI? = “I think its cheating as it's not fully your own work and you still take credit for it, it doesn’t require skill.”

What do you think of AI being to create art? = “I think it takes away opportunities for artists who practice using old techniques that are generational.”

Do you think AI is a form of plagiarism? = “Yes, as it's not you who took the time and used skills learnt over a period of time to create it”

Do you think AI will take away jobs from traditional artists? = “Yes, again as it will de-skill artists and change the perception of what is classed as skilled art.”

Overall, do you think AI is a positive thing for the arts industry? = “Not really because it will affect artist practicing traditional methods to continue doing so if there art is classed as no longer valid or something people want.” 

After hearing my friends' differing responses, I can understand how some people (myself included), have concerns about how traditional art could be devalued.  If many artists turn towards this more modern way of creating fine art with AI, where once a picture is known for telling a thousand words, it will be more of an image telling a story instead of the art going on a creative journey and process to creating the story themselves. I can see how it makes art more accessible with the use of many more people having access to the internet and therefore the use of AI to help them create art if they don’t have the materials or can’t afford paint or traditional method to use them. It also makes art more accessible for people less skilled and therefore gives the people more opportunities to get involved with art but it could be argued it does disadvantaged the more skilled artist.

AI stands for artificial intelligence and is where computers solve problems much like humans (McCallum, Vallance, Gerken & Clarke2024).  The question being posed is, is AI taking over the art industry and is this another form of Plagiarism? Plagiarism is when another person’s work is passed off as their own (Oxford Languages 2024).  This debate within the art industry has mixed opinions. When this question was posed to ChatGPT it stated the following key points:

  • Training on Copyrighted Works- Potentially AI could infringe copyright if it copies systems that have not been granted permission. 
  • Overt Imitation- Where it openly copies others work without consent or acknowledgements to the original creator.
  • Lack of Transparency- If the artists not up front saying that they used AI to create the work then this may raise the question about if that’s ethical.

AI is not exactly plagiarism although it could lead to be if not properly trained, so each case is different and should be viewed as to whether its ethical or legal.

Farrell-Kingsley (2023) noted that some EU countries have banned the use of AI due to potential violations for GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) and some French Universities too due to the risk of cheating. However, in the UK whilst it does have some restrictions it is tending to capitalise on it.

Marcel Duchamp cited by Baxter (2024) highlighted that if a particular artist identified their work as a piece of art such as that of the infamous porcelain urinal, why can’t AI be considered in such a way?  Furthermore, Baxter (2024) noted that art movements often reflect society's concerns.  Like the fear of robot domination and taking jobs that were once solely human based.  However, AI potentially encourages artists to be more autonomous and creative.  It can also help prevent them being stuck in a rut with only certain genres being produced.

Karla Ortiz cited by Clarke (2022) noted that some artists are concerned about the use of AI because it has already been used without the artists consent which them impacts on the artists income as the AI is copying their work and readily making available to others in a shorter timeframe and cost.  Thus, the artists lose out financially.  However, Ridler cited by Clarke (2022) stated that “AI can’t handle concepts: collapsing moments in time, memory, thoughts, emotions – all of that is a real human skill”.  This would imply that AI will never be able to replicate human emotional thought process that goes into making art.  This means that art produced by AI art will always lack emotion.  This poses the question, does a buyer purchase a piece of art for the meaning or purely for the visual aesthetics or both?

Epstein et al (2020) highlighted an important point in that AI art is not created on its own and needs human intervention to generate the artwork.  Thus, they argue that all individuals involved in the development of the AI art itself should be recognised not just the original creator.

From undertaking the following research into my posed question, AI within the arts industry is complex in many ways from breaches in GDPR to copyright infringement and potential job losses, to empowering artists to become more creative.  I believe that whilst it is deemed a security risk by a lot of countries but not all it will be difficult to stop it. AI is a useful tool, but it should be viewed with caution.  Independent artists need to be fully aware of copyright laws so that their artistic work is acknowledged and so benefit from any potential work created by AI using the artist’s original idea.  

I believe that AI is taking away some areas of the arts industry, to an extent. If more people are looking to buy art which favours AI generated art than that made by hand from artists, then there could be a gradual decrease in practicing artists and old techniques that are passed down through generations of artists and could be lost.  Art is clearly subjective, and I think it depends on the person who is buying it and where they wish to display it i.e. whether it is being used to add to the aesthetics of a room or for a feeling or meaning it can portray to the viewer.  AI may struggle to produce an individual bespoke piece of work such as a pet portrait as the artist may ask questions and get a feel for what the client is actually looking for whereas the AI generated work may feel more textbook, manufactured and generic.

Undertaking this exercise has made me consider potential University courses I may wish to pursue in the future.  Digital collaboration with artists seems to be the direction going forward, which is important to me considering that I am looking for a career in the creative arts sector, and the way AI's usage in the arts sector is going there may be an increasing need for developing art with the use of collaboration with AI.  It has also made me consider other creative industries such as the animation sector that could be potentially affected more by the ever-growing use of AI. 

References:

Baxter, C.(2024) AI art: The end of creativity or the start of a new movement? – BBC Future 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20241018-ai-art-the-end-of-creativity-or-a-new-movement date assessed 19.12.2024

chatgpt.com  date accessed 27/12/24

Clarke, L (2022), When AI can make art – what does it mean for creativity?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/12/when-ai-can-make-art-what-does-it-mean-for-creativity-dall-e-midjourney date accessed 

Epstein, Z., Levine, S., Rand, D.G., & Rahwan, I. (2020) Who gets credit for AI-Generated art?

https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)30707-0?sf238865351=1 accessed 28.12.2024

Farrell-Kingsley, E. (2023) regulating Chat GPT: UK approves student use as European executives voice concern over EU AI Act. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/regulating-chatgpt-uk-approves-student-use-european-farrell-kingsley Date accessed 27/12/24

McCallum, S, Vallance, C, Gerken, T, & Clarke, J. (2024) What is AI, how does it work and what can it be used for ? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65855333 

Date Accessed 27/12/24

Oxford languages and google 

https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/  date accessed 27/12/24

Header Image Credit: Amy Wilson

Author

Amy Wilson

Amy Wilson

Artist - specialising in acrylic realism paintings as well as loving to experiment with other mediums like watercolours and coloured pencil. Aspiring photographer.

3 Comments

  • Emrys Green

    On 6 February 2025, 17:03 Emrys Green Voice Team commented:

    Great reflection here on the role AI plays with art and the possibilities it opens up as well as the challenges that are evident. I think it clearly could be a level of plaigarism if you ask it to mimic styles, but if you use it to create something new perhaps it's a positive tool.

  • Tom Beasley

    On 7 February 2025, 09:04 Tom Beasley Editor commented:

    This is a really interesting and well-researched piece! I think it's fair to say that I, along with many others in the creative industries, have a lot of grave concerns about the rise of AI. It has a lot of amazing use cases in fields like science, healthcare, logistics, etc, and that's why governments like ours are excited about it, but the risk is that creative people become collateral damage.

    The point you made about audiences is really important. It's completely true that AI cannot replicate the detail and emotion of human art (at least, it can't right now), but do audiences care about that? If they don't, we're in trouble.

  • Olivia Wyatt

    On 7 February 2025, 14:04 Olivia Wyatt Kickstart commented:

    Very interesting to hear the different opinions from your interviews and the similar concerns you found in your research. I definitely agree that if you use AI you should be transparent about it and use it as inspiration, not as a replacement!

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