Sign up to save tools and stay up to date with the latest in AI
bg
bg
1

Database of 16,000 Artists Used to Train Midjourney AI Goes Viral

Jan 08, 2024 - artnews.com
Midjourney, a company that develops AI programs, has faced criticism for using a database of 16,000 artists, including a six-year-old child, to train its AI image generator. The list of artists, which was circulated on social media platforms, includes notable names such as Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, and Vincent van Gogh, as well as contributors to the trading card game Magic the Gathering. The database was used to train the AI to emulate different time periods, styles, genres, movements, mediums, and techniques.

The list was included in a lawsuit amendment to a class-action complaint against Midjourney and other companies. The lawsuit was first filed almost a year ago, and several claims were dismissed by a judge in October. The controversy has raised concerns about the use of artists' work without permission to train AI image generators, leading to the creation of a digital tool by researchers from the University of Chicago to help artists "poison" massive image sets and destabilize text-to-image outputs.

Key takeaways:

  • Midjourney, an AI company, has faced criticism for using a database of 16,000 artists, including a 6-year-old child, to train its AI image generator.
  • The list of artists was revealed in a Google Sheet shared on social media and includes notable names such as Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, and Vincent van Gogh.
  • The list was part of a lawsuit amendment to a class-action complaint against Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt, filed after several claims against the companies were dismissed by a California federal court.
  • Concerns about artworks being used without permission to train AI image generators have led to the creation of a digital tool by University of Chicago researchers, designed to "poison" massive image sets and destabilize text-to-image outputs.
View Full Article

Comments (0)

Be the first to comment!