Right, I'm just going to go over this once then not talk about this app again because I really didn't think much of it when I posted this, and I don't have the time or willpower to start discoursing on a dozen different esoteric questions about the implications of tools like this because it's exhausting.
I've been running this blog for almost a decade, which is wild actually, and I think I could count about a dozen times when a random art app or website got popular followed by a mass panic about art theft.
(Spoiler: it doesn't, I checked)
So we're at this stage, again. Every single time some art related app or website trends someone misunderstands the terms and conditions of one of these websites, it starts getting passed along and abstracted/exaggerated further with each person that quotes the last, then it goes to the most extreme possible outcome (aka how information generally works on the internet)
Every single website that you upload media is going to say in the terms that you're giving permissions for them to physically host the image on their website, that's needed for websites and apps to work. This website has an AI so yeah, it's going to learn from your image too when you upload it. Within the context of this particular AI we can assume it learns to relight images better over time.
It does not however, mean that you're forfeiting your copyright over the image and that they now have unlimited license to use your work for commercial purposes indefinitely and that you forfeit all right to pursue legal action over this. Obviously if it said that it would be massive cause for concern, but it doesn't and not one of the websites I've seen that people freaked out about actually did in the end iirc.
(Just as a general rule I don't think I've ever actually genuinely seen such thing as a sneaky website that instantly gains complete legal control over your work as soon as it's uploaded onto their servers.)
Now people are saying that because one developer on the project has done other things related to NFTs, that now means every image uploaded will be made into some kind of NFT? Why is that a given?
Even if it turns out that one of the developers likes to create NFTs in his free time, that doesn't mean he has permission to just start stealing data from the users of a website he works for. That also doesn't mean he has intent to do this, or even personally finds it ethical to steal art (two of the co-founders worked for Google Arts)
Edit: They've now confirmed exactly this:
Edit: Also as I was drafting this post I just saw this under my own post:
Wow that sounds really alarming! Machine learning to help photographers and small businesses! It must mash up our artworks and make free art for businesses to sell since that's the only thing AI does 😱
Let's look up the app mentioned in this website they linked...
It's a background remover. It removes backgrounds using AI. I don't mean to be rude because I'm sure they had good intentions, but why did you add this massive red lettering and go as far as to link the website when you didn't even look at it yourself?
It doesn't look like this company even makes any kind of generated images, it's all image editing tools - where did anyone even get the idea that they're in the business of making generated content other than because they heard the word AI?
Anyway I've seen this happen with every website or app ever that's recommended to artists and I wanted to point this out. It's good to want to protect your art, but please stop listening to people writing in big capital letters going "omg guys X website is going to steal your art" without looking into it yourself and actually digesting the information in front of you.
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