The backlash to artificial intelligence in Japan has reached a new level. According to a report by Rest of World, artists in Japan are afraid of losing their jobs because of the country's weak copyright laws.
One of the recent inciting incidents was the launch of the Japanese artificial intelligence startup, Radius5. It was intended to allow artists to create their own work and have it uploaded into Mimic, which would then give them a chance to make their own images. You can see what's happening.
Five artists were recruited by the company to show off their talent. Fans were livid that the participating artists were involved in allowing the technology to steal other artists' work.
After it's launch, Radius5 had to suspend the program because a lot of users were uploading other people's art.
The phrase "No Artificial Learning" went up on Japanese social media.
It looks like an artificial intelligence witch-hunt. Novelai was accused of copying illustrations found online. Even a flesh and blood Japanese artist had to shut down claims that she was using artificial intelligence to create her work by sharing her illustrations with the world.
The legality of it all is not clear. Japanese law allows for copyrighted characters to be used in fanmade comic books. That distinction makes the waters muddy. According to a Japanese lawyer who spoke to Rest of World, if the art doesn't border on being exactly the same as the input images, it's legal.
The Japanese response may be an indication of things to come. There is a culture war going on between the humanities and technophilics. Despite all the outrage, the technology isn't slowing down.
The people can't stop feeding their selfies into a super mean artificial intelligence.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
