How do I protect my art from AI?

The two popular options don't benefit artists. Here's how we stop AI theft at its core.

The best way to stop your art from being stolen is to hide it.

Or better yet, to not make it in the first place.

But there’s a better way.

Today’s question follows a theme I’ve heard all over the place this week.

What do you tell artists who don’t post their work online because they fear it will be stolen? I always tell my friend to post more and it’s ok if someone uses it because it gives her more exposure.

Thank you for advocating for your artist friend! That fear might be about general art theft but I’ll tie it to AI theft because that’s how your friend’s art is most likely to be stolen. It also poses the largest risk of their work being used in a very big, public way.

Artists are told you have two options:

1. Hide your work, keep it off the grid so AI never sees it.

2. Accept that theft is going to happen and share your work anyway.

But there’s a third option that isn’t talked about enough: you can organize for change.

Here’s where we’re starting to see that happen.

The False Dichotomy: Submit or Submit

Both hiding and submitting to theft are clearly bad for artists. So why are they the only two being talked about? Because AI companies don’t want to be regulated.

Their ideal is for everyone to get on board with AI, to open our wallets to use it, to buy products and services supported by it. Both of those choices serve that purpose.

If you share your work, they get to steal it and use it to train their models. If you hide your work, they have less competition from human artists. It’s the perfect outcome for them.

And that’s why those are the two options we hear about. The narrative is coming from them because it serves them. It’s an outstanding case study in public relations.

But it’s also crumbling around them.

The Market Shift

Tools like Midjourney came out in 2022. When Midjourney launched, we were all a little shocked. How can a machine create this image in front of me?

As the industry launched tool after tool, our fascination with their output wore off. The technology feels normal today. As our fascination waned, we found the space to consider the implications of AI, both environmental and human.

And here’s how the people who love art feel about AI “art” now: they absolutely hate it. They want human art. They want you.

The people buying AI “art” aren’t your customers. They’re declining in numbers. And the companies serving them on the backs of artists will eventually fail. The thieves will fade away.

How to Fight AI

If the two options are hiding from AI or sharing art, I say share without fear. Will your work be stolen? Probably. Will that hurt your business? Maybe.

But there’s also a third option, beyond the false choices provided to you by AI public relations. You can organize. The way to stop AI from stealing your art is to stop it from stealing everyone’s art.

Every country in the world needs copyright regulation to catch up with the technology. You can’t impact that by yourself but you can support organizations building the resources and scale to influence legislation.

My Advice

My advice is to keep sharing your art and to get involved with organizations who are advocating for artists, like the Human Artistry Campaign.

Change is already happening but we can accelerate it together.

---