DeviantArt Gets Condemned for Promoting AI-Generated Content

While most online platforms dedicated to digital art are now focusing on combating the ever-growing scourge of AI-generated images, or, at the very least, making it easier for users to remove artificially created content from their feeds, it appears that some websites decided to opt for a contrasting approach and support "the next big thing" instead of real human artists.

One such platform is DeviantArt, which recently found itself under fire following the publication of a Twitter post promoting one of the website's "top sellers", a user known as Mikonotai, who allegedly raked in more than $12,000 on DeviantArt in 2023 alone.

What the post failed to mention, however, is that Mikonotai is not a real artist as one could mistakenly assume, but rather an AI enthusiast who generates their images using Midjourney and Stable Diffusion and then sells them in bulk using DA as nothing more than a digital store.

Following its publication, the post in question quickly got a community note from Twitter, which added much necessary context by highlighting that Mikonotai is a generative "artist" and not a real one. Additionally, the note pointed out that most of the seller's images are priced at less than $10, casting doubt on DeviantArt's claim of Mikonotai's $12K earnings last year.

Needless to say, DeviantArt's decision to highlight generative content didn't sit well with the larger community of Digital Artists, which condemned the platform in the comments, describing such a promotion as fraudulent and outright offensive:

Apparently, the platform's SMM department is currently on damage control, hiding many of the comments under the original Twitter post:

Despite the flurry of criticism DeviantArt faced, the Twitter post in question is still available as of now and can be accessed by clicking this link.

This situation demonstrates that despite the growth of the generative AI industry, real artists aren't going to give up easily and will continue to fight against the machine in this ongoing "cold war" between humans and artificial intelligence.

Regarding the Humans vs. AI conflict, there has been a notable development recently as the carbon-based side secured a major win by passing the world's first law limiting AIs in the European Union. With overwhelming support from 523 votes, the new law aims to safeguard human rights by assigning obligations to AI systems based on their potential risks and levels of impact.

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