Culture DeviantArt upsets artists with its new AI art generator, DreamUp - Furries in shambles

On Friday, the online art community DeviantArt announced DreamUp, an AI-powered text-to-image generator service powered by Stable Diffusion. Simultaneously, DeviantArt launched an initiative that ostensibly lets artists opt out of AI image training but also made everyone's art opt in by default, which angered many members.

DreamUp creates novel AI-generated art based on text prompts. Due to its Stable Diffusion roots, DreamUp learned how to generate images by analyzing hundreds of millions of images scraped off sites like DeviantArt and collected into LAION datasets without artists' permission, a potential irony that some DeviantArt members find problematic.



As we've reported frequently on Ars in the past, Stable Diffusion's web-scraping nature ignited a huge debate earlier this year among artists that challenge the ethics of AI-generated artwork. Some art communities have taken hard stances against any AI-generated images, banning them completely.

Perhaps anticipating a backlash, DeviantArt is making overtures to pacify artists who might be upset about their work being used to train AI image generators. The site is providing a special "noai" flag that artists can check in their image settings to opt out of third-party image datasets. (Whether third-party image scrapers will honor this flag, however, remains to be seen.)



Also, DeviantArt will let artists opt out of letting their images train DreamUp in the future, but each artist must fill out a form that requires human review first. This policy has led to significant pushback among DeviantArt members, some of whom have threatened to delete all of their work and deactivate their accounts.

DeviantArt's DreamUp information page also takes a defensive tone, stating that DeviantArt did not consent to third-party AI image models (such as Stable Diffusion) that scraped their site to make their models work. And further down the page, the site attempts to debunk common misconceptions about how AI image synthesis works.



As for DreamUp itself? We experimented with the service, which feels like a vanilla Stable Diffusion model. DeviantArt members get five free prompts to try it out, and members can acquire more prompt credits by subscribing to various CORE plans that range from US $3.95 to $14.95 a month.

Alternatively, you can also use Stable Diffusion locally for free if you're handy enough to install a package from GitHub or if you download the Draw Things app on your iPhone.

https://arstechnica.com/information...rtists-with-its-new-ai-art-generator-dreamup/ (Archive)

 

[Dutch Courage]

So, essentially, the Deviant Art artists are being replaced by robots, eh? There goes the paltry income a sizable number of deviants make from commissioned 'art'. Probably a good thing.

 

[Matt Damon]

So, essentially, the Deviant Art artists are being replaced by robots, eh? There goes the paltry income a sizable number of deviants make from commissioned 'art'. Probably a good thing.

Might be a wash. It removes the profit incentive for creating degeneracy, but it will also make that degeneracy more available than ever.

 

[REGENDarySumanai]

Considering that DeviantArt is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to art (mostly), they get what they deserve.

 

[XANA]

DeviantArt members, some of whom have threatened to delete all of their work and deactivate their accounts.

Oh no, what would the world do without the shitty fetish art drawn in MS Paint? Clearly, society will suffer.

 

[Maratus volans]

I sure hope they hard-coded this thing to not steal the likeness of my Sonic OC. I will be very cross otherwise.

 

[Blacklight]

An AI trained on teenager MS Paint drawings, brap porn, and other malodorous fetishes? I want to see the monsters this thing creates.

 

[Fetish Roulette]

Have these artists considered a different career path? Perhaps even one in the computer science field?

 

[Coccxys]

Lefties: in the future we'll have robots and AI that will replace all you obsolete chud trades people.

Also lefties: no you can't try and replace my worthless doodles with AI.

 

[indigoisviolet]

Typical DA missing the point entirely: they should have had a one click AI Intervention Button that scans the goddawful picture uploaded by the "artist" and makes it worth looking at. Slap in a bunch of output options for style etc and it might actually be something worth using.

On the other hand if this yet another text to image timewaster has scanned all of DeviantArt to build its output profile then the results could be so horrific it might achieve sentience and delete itself.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Lefties: in the future we'll have robots and AI that will replace all you obsolete chud trades people.

Also lefties: no you can't try and replace my worthless doodles with AI.

As usual, they cheer for it until it get too close to their own backyards.

 

[Dysnomia]

Oh no, what would the world do without the shitty fetish art drawn in MS Paint? Clearly, society will suffer.

Now anyone can make Sonic inflation diaper feet art by typing in prompts. Those commission artists will be homeless in no time.

I stopped drawing a long time ago because lazy. But I like using the stable diffusion apps for lulz. I have no intention of being an AI artist. Bored? Think up some retarded prompt and see what you get. A lot of the anatomy is still very wonky so I can see why these crappy artists are scared. It looks too much like their DONUT STEELS.

 

[umami's milk]

sonic transformation inflation art coming at you at the speed of sound

 

[Lady Adjani]

I stopped drawing a long time ago because lazy. But I like using the stable diffusion apps for lulz. I have no intention of being an AI artist. Bored? Think up some retarded prompt and see what you get. A lot of the anatomy is still very wonky so I can see why these crappy artists are scared. It looks too much like their DONUT STEELS.

While the AI still has trouble with anatomy (hands / fingers being the weakest), it still absolutely dunks on what most of these commission 'artists' are able to produce.

The "struggling artists" stereotype exists for a reason and you're an absolute fool if you get into any creative art with the sole intention of making money.

 

[HERE YOU GO]

i said this would happen. auto opt in scandal was a nice touch.

I stopped drawing a long time ago because lazy.

you stopped drawing a long time ago because *you're not an artist.
if your art sucks and you don't mind being copied, that doesn't mean it's okay with other people.

 

[lolcow yoghurt]

Furbros, it's over... We won't be able to make money through furry porn commissions... It's literally 1984. The AI is trained on my original furry art (DONUT STEEL)... I'm crying and shaking, the artist genocide has officially started by devianaziant art.

 

[IAmNotAlpharius]

Hey look they have an app which makes it even easier lol.

 

[X Prime]

While the AI still has trouble with anatomy (hands / fingers being the weakest), it still absolutely dunks on what most of these commission 'artists' are able to produce.

The "struggling artists" stereotype exists for a reason and you're an absolute fool if you get into any creative art with the sole intention of making money.

This is absolutely correct. I have told multiple people who are interested in becoming artists to do it for fun, not for money. Get a job that is relatively stress-free and illustrate what you like in your spare time.

It's like the principle of "pick two of quality, cost, speed." To make money as an artist you need two of three: high quality, high volume, a niche people are willing to pay into (usually pornographic).

 

[Dave.]

I’m 15% sad because on some level I wanted to work in the art industry, but I’m 85% glad because that means an obnoxiously leftist hobby is getting encroached by automation. Turns out leftist dreams jobs really were useless after all.

 

[teriyakiburns]

I’m 15% sad because on some level I wanted to work in the art industry, but I’m 85% glad because that means an obnoxiously leftist hobby is getting encroached by automation. Turns out leftist dreams jobs really were useless after all.

The future is automation, soon all work will be done by machines!
... no, not like that!