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Yohan Wadia on why AI art made through platforms like Lensa AI and Midjourney is getting mixed reviews online and its implications for copyright infringement
Sattva’s Spider-Man.AI art by digital artist Yohan Wadia
Fantastic AI-powered portraits and selfies have been all over social media over the past few weeks, with users across the globe excited to jump on the trend. Scrolling through your Instagram feed is flooded with photos of friends and family transforming themselves into mythical characters — superheroes, medieval princesses, historical figures, movie characters — you name it.
However, the driver behind this viral trend is not the stroke of a paintbrush but the click of a finger. Users are flocking to platforms like Lensa AI and Midjourney, where by typing in tips and suggestions, they can create AI-generated artwork and “magic avatars” of themselves.
“While AI learns from patterns, techniques and images, it creates visuals that are completely original and different from each other” – Yohan Wadia
In the AI selfie craze, an Emirati artist has recently jumped on the bandwagon, but he has his own twist. Yohan Wadia, a professional illustrator and creative director, reimagines blue-collar workers in Dubai’s old neighborhood of Al Satwa as superheroes from the Marvel and DC universes. From Superman on a street bench to Spiderman walking by with shopping bags, the artist created AI-generated artwork to celebrate the unsung heroes of Dubai’s commercial center who, he says, made the city.
However, while his “Sattva Heroes” series has taken social media by storm, Wadia, like other digital artists, has been subject to criticism related to AI-generated art. Artists using these platforms have been accused of copyright infringement and oversimplification of the art-making process, among other ethical concerns raised by the apps.
Wadia’s self-portrait made with Lensa AI
We spoke to Wadia, who specializes in Harrij Times, Walk us through the steps needed to create AI art while addressing the associated ethical questions raised about this new technology.
Q) How would you describe AI-generated art?
AI art is generated with the help of machine learning. It was developed with the help of computing power to search the internet, learn patterns, styles and any other art-related attributes, and recreate visuals based on the learnings with the help of user input prompts.
ask) What are some apps/platforms that can be used to create AI art?
The best in the game are Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and Dall-E.I personally use Midjourney for my art.
ask) Can you briefly explain the steps required to create AI art?
While most people think that AI art is as simple as pressing a button and getting results, unfortunately that is not the case. The first thing a person needs to do is to visualize in as much detail as possible, and then describe the image in their mind to be able to generate something as close to their imagination as possible. The AI will then generate variations based on your cue, and you can further fine-tune the cue based on how the AI creates art until you can perfect it.
Deadpool working in a garage.All AI artwork created by Yohan Wadia using Midjourney
ask) You need input datasets to create AI art. Are these datasets from copyrighted content?
AI learns from any source on the Internet, and thus, it is capable of reproducing derivative works of potentially copyrighted content, although it does not reproduce any absolute detail involved in copyright infringement. A publication recently reported that using copyrighted material to train AI models may fall under fair use law.
ask) An online critique of an AI art generation app mentions: “This app is profiting off of massive amounts of stolen, unauthorized and uncompensated artwork”. How far is this correct?
Nothing we think or create is original. Every invention or every concept is a derivative of past experience or a particular encounter. As AI learns from patterns, techniques and images, it creates visuals that are completely original and different from each other. You will never find two identical images in AI generated images.
I’m an illustrator and creative director who has spent the last 14 years of my life designing, and as an artist I’m constantly thriving on inspiration. But I can assure you it’s always something that inspires us to come up with original content. The AI might even search some of my work to generate artwork if someone suggests something that matches my style. However, this is how art has always worked. Art inspires art unless something is blatantly stolen and copied!
Hulk delivers goods to nearby supermarkets
ask) What other criticisms of AI art have artists received?
The most common is “artificial intelligence art is not art”. Well, in that case, digital painting is not painting, and digital camera photography is not photography. Unfortunately, most criticism is primarily motivated by insecurity and fear. Fear of being replaced by something superior and faster than us humans. Every invention will be resisted and rejected at the beginning of its birth, and artificial intelligence art is no exception. I was taken aback by the possibilities myself, and my first reaction was, “Well, it looks like we’re going to lose our jobs soon”. But when you think about it, it’s just a tool to facilitate execution. Execution has been historically overrated for the longest time. It involves a lot of hard work, no doubt about it, but the time has come when technology is making it easier for the layman to execute something spectacular with a simple idea! Isn’t it amazing? This is what mobile phones have done to photography, and what computers have done to several other industries, including graphic design.
Batman enjoying kadak on the street side of Satwa
ask) AI selfies created with Lensa AI and Stable Diffusion also raise privacy concerns among users…
One of the major ethical concerns of AI-generated jobs revolves around companies’ misuse of user data. However, an article I read online states that the images used to train the AI are purged once the learning is complete. Lensa AI made a public statement on Twitter, mentioning that once an avatar is generated, the photos and “associated models” are permanently deleted from their servers. Hopefully, these concerns will become clearer in the future.
somya@khaleejtimes.com
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