Generative AI is a Disaster in the Making

[maegan_bertrand]

 I was shocked to learn this past month that FIverr is going to allow generative AI gigs to be sold on their platform. Currently, there are many legal and ethical complications surrounding this technology.

 For months, artists around the world have spoken in opposition to AI generated content, due to the fact that the datasets used to train AI consist of millions of copyright protected photos and pieces of art. These images were used without license, consent, compensation or credit given to the artists. This issue is perfectly illustrated by someone being able to use a specific artist's or photographer's name in the prompt text in order to generate imitations of that person's work and style.   

 Currently, the US does not give AI generated work copyright protection, and in the UK, the government has rolled back a policy that would have given AI developers near unparalleled exemptions for datamining after the policy was met with significant backlash by both the music industry and visual artists.

Linked below is an article on the rollback of the UK datamining exemption:

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/british-government-scraps-plan-for-ai-text-and-data-mining-copyright-exception/

 

 Fiverr's decision looks even more baffling to me in light of there now being two lawsuits against AI companies, one of them by Getty Images, and the other filed on behalf of visual artists.

Artist Lawsuit Against AI:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-stable-diffusion-stability-ai-lawsuit-artists-sue-image-generators/

You can view the PDF of the lawsuit here:

https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/myvmogjdxvr/IP%20AI%20COPYRIGHT%20complaint.pdf

Getty Images Lawsuit against Stability AI:

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/getty-images-lawsuit-stability-ai-12-million-photos-copied-stabile-diffusion-1234656475/

You can view the PDF of the Getty Images Lawsuit here:

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24412807/getty_images_vs_stability_AI_delaware.pdf

 

 In recent weeks, there has also been growing concern around AI's ability to generate deepfake visual and audio of real people, including celebrities and streamers. These deepfakes have been used to spread misinformation, to harass, and to create non-consensual p*o*r*nography. While deepfake technology has existed for a few years, what makes this new iteration potentially more dangerous and terrifying is the speed at which deepfake material can now be generated and spread, and how it will progressively become harder to distinguish from real photos or video/audio as the available models improve.

Below is a link to a news story detailing the Atrioc deepfake porn scandal:

https://www.insider.com/atrioc-caught-qtcinderella-ai-picture-twitch-deepfake-controversy-streamer-trauma-2023-2

 

[uk1000]

7 hours ago, maegan_bertrand said:

I was shocked to learn this past month that FIverr is going to allow generative AI gigs to be sold on their platform...Currently, there are many legal and ethical complications surrounding this technology.

I've posted about 2 lawsuits (one by the 3 artists - the class action one and one by a stock site).

This is what Fiverr support said about it:

Quote

...I will be assisting you today.
 
We would recommend not using those apps for your gigs, because of the lawsuits, just to be sure that doesn't affect anything that you are selling and that buyers would like to buy and use in the future.
 
Sellers are responsible for ensuring they have all necessary rights to the content they create, including copyrights.

If the content created and/or delivered on Fiverr with the help of AI is found to infringe or violate any copyrights, existing non-original standards, applicable law, or Fiverr Community Standards, such content will be removed from the platform, and the seller’s account may be permanently suspended.

If sellers use AI tools and/or programs to generate content or deliver services, they are obligated to comply with the respective tool and/or program’s terms of service and all applicable regulations...

So if they may ban sellers for infringing copyright and the support person is recommending not to create gigs with AI art apps then maybe they should disable the AI art artists category (for those using apps with models trained on copyrighted works that where they didn't get permission where they should have) until the lawsuits are resolved. For those using AI art apps not trained on the copyrighted works that were done without permission then they should be okay (though the main art apps will be using the models trained on those copyrighted works, and even though you can train them yourself, usually that training or the output would need to be on top of a model trained on the copyrighted work).

A lot of that quote from CS is from the community standards page about AI:

https://www.fiverr.com/community/standards/intellectual-property

Quote

Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated content.

Fiverr embraces the use of new technology and allows content generated by users with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and programs.  

However, whenever AI is a part of the work process, it should be proactively disclosed to  buyers through the Gig description, and/or during any order requirements discussion.

Do not:

• Mislead others about the nature of the work when it is not entirely human generated

• Sell AI-generated content in bulk

• Use AI tools to spread misinformation, create deepfakes, or generate faces of humans who do not exist

• Use AI in a way that is biased or potentially discriminates against individuals 

Sellers are responsible for ensuring they have all necessary rights to the content they create, including copyrights. If the content created and/or delivered on Fiverr with the help of AI is found to infringe or violate any copyrights, existing non-original standards, applicable law, or Fiverr Community Standards, such content will be removed from the platform, and the seller’s account may be permanently suspended....

So if the lawsuits go ahead and if any are successful that could be an issue with any Fiverr AI deliveries using AI apps that used models trained on the copyrighted content in question.

Chat GPT also uses generative AI trained with text from millions of web pages without permission of the rights holders and Fiverr have categories related to that and are encouraging using that, though I don't know of any lawsuits related to Chat GPT yet.

Edited February 11, 2023 by uk1000

[maegan_bertrand]

@uk1000 

12 hours ago, uk1000 said:

So if they may ban sellers for infringing copyright and the support person is recommending not to create gigs with AI art apps then maybe they should disable the AI art artists category (for those using apps with models trained on copyrighted works that where they didn't get permission where they should have) until the lawsuits are resolved.

 For sure this part ⬆️! Though the lawsuits are still in the early stages, it calls into question how Fiverr will potentially deal with any legal or financial fallout if the courts rule in favor of the artists and/or Getty Images. I am skeptical if they can effectively enforce their own policy since there's so many people eager to use AI to make money, who aren't aware or don't care that the image generators exist in a legal and ethical limbo. 

 Right now on Youtube, there's probably hundreds of videos extoling the virtues of AI image generation as "an easy, no skill, quick way to make income", and they give figures that feel so vastly unrealistic, but alot of people right now are desperate to make money, so they go in for it. 

 I am also not aware of any lawsuits against ChatGPT at the moment, but given that there is now more discussion happening within the writing community about it, it's not hard to imagine that there could be soon. I doubt publishers will want to face mass plagiarism and copyright suits, so I think that many are now going to wait and see how the two lawsuits in progress go. 

 Voice actors are becoming increasingly alarmed by audio AI using their work without getting consent or paying them, though they feel they aren't as visible as artists, which I hope will change as awareness spreads.

 Visual artists have had a rough time with people threatening and harassing them when they oppose the use of their work in AI models. Some of the accusations range from artists being elitists who are gatekeeping creativity, trying to stop innovation and being called Luddites- to more ugly things such as doxxing and artists being told to self-harm.

[moikchap]

I'm betting the shape of Generative AI tools will simply adapt to become legal. Grey-tools like Napster and YouTube begat an IP Law revolution that ends with Spotify and DMCA/Content ID. The disruptive services and market behaviours became monetized in a way that worked for the established industry. Probably Generative AI will go a similar way that an agency will be set up to let people submit their content to potentially get paid, and then earn pennies because all of it's going to Getty Images.

[gongor32]

I think fiverr hitting their toe with hammer themselves. They should be fighting against generative AI if they want the platform still relevant. So if something can be made with ai and even fiverr itself recommending AI instead of professionals, why would people be coming back to platform. 🤷‍♂️

[uk1000]

7 hours ago, gongor32 said:

So if something can be made with ai and even fiverr itself recommending AI instead of professionals, why would people be coming back to platform. 

They're probably doing it partly because, according to venturebeat.com Fiverr got "a 1,400% increase in searches for AI-related services over the last six months" and probably because other big companies are using it (even though there's lawsuits against some companies so it's risky) and things like ChatGPT being used a lot (one site says it's been used by "over 100 million people worldwide").

So they probably think that they'll get left behind or lose income they could have made if they don't use it in some way (though are they running tests to see the effect of it and whether it may have a bad effect on normal gigs? Maybe they should do checks like that as they may lose money because of that), and that these types of AI are probably going to be used a lot more in future (eg. filters in photoshop). Though they should make sure it's legal first.

The users may be coming because they've created something with ChatGPT and want it edited (eg. proofread/fact checked/changed in some way - maybe to make it not obvious it's written in chatGPT) or aren't able to get the results they want/they can't do something with the AI art apps (there's also costs with some of them), eg. some things may more be complex than they can do (eg. AI art videos) or need a lot of VRAM/RAM/good CPU or they don't have the art skills to change it in the way they want (or know what prompts work best) or it would take them too long to do.

Like @moikchapsays the legal issues with Generative AI will probably be sorted out at some point (and the law will probably be made a lot clearer about it). In future it will probably be like spell-check/grammar check in Word or filters/options in normal art/video apps.

So it's probably because they don't want to lose out business-wise (though they don't seem to be taking into account the risks, including of the lawsuits, legal issues with the deliveries, things written with ChatGPT that are factually incorrect or have plagiarism (though there's a bit in the rules about plagiarism) etc.).

Edited February 12, 2023 by uk1000

[miiila]

Leaving this webinar link here, for anyone reading and interested, who didn't see it in "Events":

https://events.fiverr.com/joiningforceswithai

Joining Forces With Generative AI
Feb 22, 2023 8:00AM - 9:00AM PST

[catwriter]

45 minutes ago, miiila said:

Leaving this webinar link here, for anyone reading and interested, who didn't see it in "Events":

And for everyone who didn't get the pop-up invitation on the main site, or an email inviting them to this webinar...

[donnovan86]

1 hour ago, miiila said:

Joining Forces With Generative AI

Didn't Fiverr have an AI related webinar a month or two ago? Do we only need AI in order to do our work? There are many other pressing issues and things to address rather than just AI. At least that's where my 2 cents go. AI is great, but not everyone needs AI, yet we need some improvements to the platform. Like, you know, not having buyers use gig multiples to do up to 20x any gig package...At this point I am ok with this feature being Seller Plus exclusive, just add it for God's sake, because a lot of people want to customize how they receive orders..

Edited February 13, 2023 by donnovan86

[maheennadeem814]

10 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

Didn't Fiverr have an AI related webinar a month or two ago? Do we only need AI in order to do our work? There are many other pressing issues and things to address rather than just AI. At least that's where my 2 cents go. AI is great, but not everyone needs AI, yet we need some improvements to the platform. Like, you know, not having buyers use gig multiples to do up to 20x any gig package...At this point I am ok with this feature being Seller Plus exclusive, just add it for God's sake, because a lot of people want to customize how they receive orders..

I second you here!

[newsmike]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:40 PM, gongor32 said:

So if something can be made with ai and even fiverr itself recommending AI instead of professionals, why would people be coming back to platform.

Yep. Fiverr thinks only sellers will use AI to create billable projects. They don't seem to realize that the more they promote AI, the more likely that buyers will just skip Fiverr and go ChatGPT and say "write a haiku about skipping Fiverr and using AI instead"

  

[vibronx]

im so excited youre embracing the future fiber 🥰🥰🥰 i cant wait for judgment day and Skynet ☺️🥳

[newsmike]

Just now, vibronx said:

im so excited youre embracing the future fiber

Its like the room is full of IT geeks who are beside themselves over "The Latest Thing" and not one person from marketing or accounting is there to say, "Ya know this will put a lot of our sellers out of business."  Always good to have an adult in the room. 

[vibronx]

1 minute ago, newsmike said:

Its like the room is full of IT geeks who are beside themselves over "The Latest Thing" and not one person from marketing or accounting is there to say, "Ya know this will put a lot of our sellers out of business."  Always good to have an adult in the room. 

Exactly. I really don’t understand the thought process. “We have a freelancing platform based on human creatives, so, of course, we need to promote AI!” It makes zero sense.

[newsmike]

Just now, vibronx said:

It makes zero sense.

If anything, Fiverr should be promoting "Get great work from real, talented humans, not cut n' paste junk from a bot."  

[miiila]

5 hours ago, catwriter said:

And for everyone who didn't get the pop-up invitation on the main site, or an email inviting them to this webinar...

Yes, not that anyone claims they couldn't join forces with the AI because the algorithm sneakily left them out of it. At least any Grand Master who's worth their forum salt should know now 😉 May the AI force be with you.

Or may the event bring you insights and ideas if you're part of the rebellion. 

Either side has cookies, I'm sure, so nothing much to fear.

Edited February 14, 2023 by miiila

[miiila]

43 minutes ago, newsmike said:

Yep. Fiverr thinks only sellers will use AI to create billable projects. They don't seem to realize that the more they promote AI, the more likely that buyers will just skip Fiverr and go ChatGPT and say "write a haiku about skipping Fiverr and using AI instead"

  

When I learned about haiku, they were supposed to have 5-7-5 syllables. I guess one could argue wether "AI" is 1 or 2, kind of, but I wouldn't accept "In the digital age" as 5 if I was a client for sure.

[newsmike]

Just now, miiila said:

When I learned about haiku, they were supposed to have 5-7-5 syllables. I guess one could argue wether "AI" is 1 or 2, kind of, but I wouldn't accept "In the digital age" as 5 if I was a client for sure.

At the end of the first quarter:

Human 1, AI 0    

[catwriter]

12 hours ago, donnovan86 said:

Didn't Fiverr have an AI related webinar a month or two ago?

That one wasn't all about the AI, though that's the part that most people remembered.

According to the webinar page, here's the reason for this one: "Recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence have talented freelancers concerned about their livelihood. This webinar is here to address that apprehension and shed light on the benefits new AI tools present to the freelancer community. "

[imagination7413]

Tom Scott released a video on the subject of AI yesterday. Good food for thought. 

Quote

Edited February 14, 2023 by imagination7413

[donnovan86]

5 hours ago, catwriter said:

"Recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence have talented freelancers concerned about their livelihood. This webinar is here to address that apprehension and shed light on the benefits new AI tools present to the freelancer community. "

Well I had a talk with a customer that said their niche is very complex (excavators and industrial equipment) and whether they hire someone or use AI to generate text, they still have to edit. So they are not using freelance writers anymore, just because it ends up being cheaper to use AI. And you know I already have a very low price to begin with. So whatever Fiverr or anyone else says, I know firsthand people will lose customers. I already did, that person said there's no ill-will, it's just way cheaper for him and the content is delivered within minutes. So I can't beat that...

[Yoav.M]

Hello everyone, 

I'm writing you the following response to clarify that we have a webinar next week - 22.2 (11 am New York time) - with the purpose to provide useful and helpful information about AI. 

We will share insights on the latest generative AI tools, the benefits of incorporating them into your work processes, and the best way to go about it. 

Our desire is to ease your way, to make you feel supported and to help you become more successful with us.

We want to enlighten your thoughts about the use of AI on Fiverr, and how it can be beneficial for you.
Registration - https://events.fiverr.com/joiningforceswithai/CRM

[specialassault]

On 2/11/2023 at 1:43 AM, maegan_bertrand said:

 I was shocked to learn this past month that FIverr is going to allow generative AI gigs to be sold on their platform. Currently, there are many legal and ethical complications surrounding this technology.

 For months, artists around the world have spoken in opposition to AI generated content, due to the fact that the datasets used to train AI consist of millions of copyright protected photos and pieces of art. These images were used without license, consent, compensation or credit given to the artists. This issue is perfectly illustrated by someone being able to use a specific artist's or photographer's name in the prompt text in order to generate imitations of that person's work and style.   

 Currently, the US does not give AI generated work copyright protection, and in the UK, the government has rolled back a policy that would have given AI developers near unparalleled exemptions for datamining after the policy was met with significant backlash by both the music industry and visual artists.

Linked below is an article on the rollback of the UK datamining exemption:

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/british-government-scraps-plan-for-ai-text-and-data-mining-copyright-exception/

 

 Fiverr's decision looks even more baffling to me in light of there now being two lawsuits against AI companies, one of them by Getty Images, and the other filed on behalf of visual artists.

Artist Lawsuit Against AI:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-stable-diffusion-stability-ai-lawsuit-artists-sue-image-generators/

You can view the PDF of the lawsuit here:

https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/myvmogjdxvr/IP%20AI%20COPYRIGHT%20complaint.pdf

Getty Images Lawsuit against Stability AI:

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/getty-images-lawsuit-stability-ai-12-million-photos-copied-stabile-diffusion-1234656475/

You can view the PDF of the Getty Images Lawsuit here:

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24412807/getty_images_vs_stability_AI_delaware.pdf

 

 In recent weeks, there has also been growing concern around AI's ability to generate deepfake visual and audio of real people, including celebrities and streamers. These deepfakes have been used to spread misinformation, to harass, and to create non-consensual p*o*r*nography. While deepfake technology has existed for a few years, what makes this new iteration potentially more dangerous and terrifying is the speed at which deepfake material can now be generated and spread, and how it will progressively become harder to distinguish from real photos or video/audio as the available models improve.

Below is a link to a news story detailing the Atrioc deepfake porn scandal:

https://www.insider.com/atrioc-caught-qtcinderella-ai-picture-twitch-deepfake-controversy-streamer-trauma-2023-2

 

I agree, the number of sellers I saw now saying they make professional artwork, only to find out if you don't read close enough, they use A.I Websites! So this is saying they are using A.I websites that are free in order to profit from them! I told one seller saying I wanted some artwork and his reply back was that he only used A.I website and when I told him I was not interested, he would then block me, so really that's showing us buyers something that Fiverr is now corrupted!

[newsmike]

5 hours ago, specialassault said:

I agree, the number of sellers I saw now saying they make professional artwork, only to find out if you don't read close enough, they use A.I Websites! So this is saying they are using A.I websites that are free in order to profit from them! I told one seller saying I wanted some artwork and his reply back was that he only used A.I website and when I told him I was not interested, he would then block me, so really that's showing us buyers something that Fiverr is now corrupted!

Fiverr has been wrestling with this identity crisis for years, but AI is accelerating it. Fiverr wants to be the Rolex authorized seller with TRS and PRO sellers, but at the same time they refuse to turn away the guy who wants to buy a counterfeit for $15.  You just have to go around back and ask for Stan.

[gayanchamira]

Yes some time it is the End of creative era and start of Artificial thinkers era under few codes