Kickstarter has banned a project involving AI-generated art from its platform.
Earlier this month, a group called Unstable Diffusion started a Kickstarter campaign to fund a project which describes itself as "the development of open-source, community first, AI models that will achieve the dream of a billion people exploring and creating art with nothing but their imagination. This revolution in human expression will be equivalent to the invention of the printing press, or the internet. AI that allows for anyone to make art." The campaign, which further states desires to "create a much more expressive and dynamic AI art model that can better handle human anatomy," raised $56,177 with 867 backers.
Kickstarter's Statement on AI Art Projects
Many took to Twitter to complain about the project and its intentions. In response, Kickstarter removed the project and issued a statement regarding the company's current thinking toward AI technology. Written by Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor on Dec. 21, the statement reads, "At Kickstarter, we often have projects that are innovative and push the boundaries of what’s possible. And that means we’re sometimes navigating some really tricky and undefined areas. Over the last several days, we’ve engaged our Community Advisory Council and we’ve read your feedback to us via our team and social media. And one thing is clear: Kickstarter must, and will always be, on the side of creative work and the humans behind that work. We’re here to help creative work thrive."
Taylor's statement goes on to explain the criteria the platform will use to determine "what place AI image generation software and AI-generated art should have on Kickstarter, if any." This includes looking at if a project is copying or mimicking an artist's work, if a project exploits a particular community or if a project is putting anyone at risk of harm. "This tech is really new, and we don’t have all the answers. The decisions we make now might not be the ones we make in the future, so we want this to be an ongoing conversation with all of you," Taylor concludes.