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In 2021, OpenAI released the first version of DALL-E<\/a>, forever altering how we think about images, art, and the ways in which we collaborate with machines. Using deep learning models, the AI system output images based on text prompts \u2014 users could create anything from a romantic shark wedding<\/a> to a puffer fish who swallowed an atomic bomb<\/a>.<\/p>\n DALL-E 2<\/a> followed in mid-2022, using a diffusion model that allowed it to render far more realistic images than its predecessor. The tool soon went viral, but this was just the beginning for AI art generators.\u00a0Midjourney<\/a>, an independent research lab in the AI space, and Stable Diffusion, the open-source image-generating AI from Stability AI, soon entered the scene. <\/p>\n While many, including those in Web3 embraced these new creative tools<\/a>, others staged anti-AI protests<\/a>, expressed ethical concerns<\/a> surrounding copyright law, and questioned whether these \u201cartists\u201d collaborating with AI even deserved that title. <\/p>\n At the heart of the debate was the question of consent. If there is one thing that can be said about all these systems with certainty, it is that they were trained on massive <\/em>amounts of data. In other words, billions and billions of existing images. Where did those images come from? In part, they were scraped from hundreds of domains across the internet<\/a>, meaning many artists had their entire portfolios fed into the system without their permission.<\/p>\n Now, those artists are fighting back, with a series of legal disputes arising in the past few months. This could be a long and bitter battle, the outcome of which could fundamentally alter artists\u2019 rights to their creations and their ability to earn a livelihood. <\/p>\n In late 2022, experts began raising alarms<\/a> that many of the complex legal issues, particularly those surrounding the information used to develop the AI model, would need to be answered by the court system. These alarm bells changed to a battle cry in January of 2023. A class-action lawsuit was filed<\/a> against three companies that produced AI art generators: MidJourney, Stability AI (Stable Diffusion\u2019s parent company), and DeviantArt (for their DreamUp product).\u00a0<\/p>\n The lead plaintiffs in the case are artists Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, and Karla Ortiz. They allege that, through their AI products, these companies are infringing on their rights \u2014 and the rights of millions of other artists \u2014 by using the billions of images available online to train their AI \u201cwithout the consent of the artists and without compensation.\u201d Programmer and lawyer Matthew Butterick filed the suit in partnership with the Joseph Saveri Law Firm. <\/p>\nBring on the Lawsuits<\/strong><\/h2>\n