Artists forge digital defense against AI copycats

In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) mimics artists’ styles without credit or compensation, a coalition of creatives and university researchers deploys cutting-edge tools to safeguard their work.

US illustrator Paloma McClain discovered her art used by AI models without acknowledgment, prompting her to take action.

McClain turned to the University of Chicago’s Glaze, a free software that outsmarts AI by subtly tweaking pixels, rendering digital artwork distinctively different to AI but imperceptible to human eyes.

“We’re providing technical tools to protect human creators against invasive AI models,” stated Professor Ben Zhao, part of the Glaze team, emphasizing the ethical advancement of technology.

Since its March 2023 release, Glaze has amassed over 1.6 million downloads, and an enhanced version, Nightshade, is in development to further confuse AI, potentially transforming a dog into a cat in its interpretation.

Startup Spawning contributes to the defense with Kudurru software, detecting mass image harvesting attempts online. With over a thousand integrated websites, artists can block access or send altered images, disrupting AI training data.

Moreover, haveibeentrained.com, launched by Spawning, empowers artists to discover if their works have been used to train AI, offering an opt-out option for the future.

In a parallel effort, researchers at Washington University developed AntiFake software to combat AI voice replication.

Enriching digital recordings with imperceptible noises, the software aims not only to prevent unauthorized AI training but also to combat “deepfakes” in voice recordings.

“The best solution would be a world where all AI data is subject to consent and payment,” expressed Jordan Meyer, Spawning cofounder, echoing the call for ethical practices in AI development.

As these defenses emerge, the artistic community takes a stand against AI infringement, pushing developers toward a future where creativity is respected, protected, and compensated.