I liked AI art in the beginning. I thought it was cool that by feeding an algorithm images, you could teach it to create. I thought it could be used to help us learn more about how consciousness and art are inherently linked, as well as a fun little thing to mess around with. But then stuff started to go wrong. Artists from all over the internet discovered their works were being fed to the algorithms companies were creating without their consent. Their styles and labors were stolen, and many felt as if their creative labors were exploited with no benefit to them. No financial compensation, no credit, no consent form signed nothing. It was disrespectful, but there were also AI art generators that didn't use stable diffusion and therefore lacked the ethical dilemmas. So I thought that maybe there was a chance this could be redeemed. And I heard all sorts of arguments from folks on TikTok and Facebook and Twitter about how people won't stop commissioning real artists just because AI art exists. AI art lacks the unique quality and heart human made works possess. Well, this brings us to why I'm making this video. Justin Reulan, famous for his involvement in Rick and Morty and its spiritual sibling solar opposites, recently discussed in an interview that his team used artificial intelligence art for making in-game visual assets in the shooter high on life. This is why that's a problem. Justin Reulan hates labor unions. The most notable instance was his dishonest and childish tantrum against the animators guild, which made him look like an imbecil in the eyes of the public and the arts industry. This is setting a standard that if you don't want to hire artists for certain jobs or want to avoid dealing with labor unions, you can just use an AI in a professional setting. There was an author on TikTok who said the fear and hate of AI art was irrational because creators would rather pay for something real by a human than use an AI. Ireland has proved that mindset incorrect. Imagine you wanted work by a specific artist, but oh look, they ask for financial compensation. How unfortunate. If you wanted to be a monster, you'd get an open source algorithm for an AI bot with stable diffusion, feed it nothing but the works of that artist you want to replicate, and then you have a bot that can closely emulate their work. And because you can't copyright an art style, and there are no precedents set in court for lawsuits over this kind of art theft, there would be nothing the artist could do about it. The best explanation for the issues of stable diffusion fueled AI art comes from YouTuber Mally Mallware. Please watch their video link in the description. AI artists don't feed their own art into the AI to teach them. They take from others in most cases it's without consent. These frauds are not the source of the AI's creative ability. Their thieves with some programming knowledge, taking other people's work and shoving it into a blender. Legitimizing. This form of creation opens the floor for price gouging, for AI art bot handlers to smother the market. It opens the floor to union busting ass hats to threaten to automate our industries if we don't fall in line. It's disingenuous, selfish, and utterly worthless. I am probably biased. I'm an artist myself. I create for a living. But we need to remember that we are in late stage capitalism, that the wealthy will dive the deepest depths of depravity. Workers solidarity protects worker rights. And I definitely sound like a filthy commie, but it would probably because I am a filthy commie. If you love art, support artists. Retweet our work. Comment on our content. Don't need to wear patriots, buy our merch. It's worth so much more to us than you think. But most of all, stay safe, stay smart, and stay informed. I'll see you next time. Hey guys, end credits patch here. If you like my stuff and want to see more, feel free to click the sub button. It's free and you can always unsubscribe if you change your mind. Special thanks to my lapis to your patrons, Leo Convoy reviews, Vulganhorn and Wolf Hammer R.L. And my adventuring to your patrons, Fire Pa and Kyle McColle, as well as Sam, who is a supporter on both Kofi and Patreon. Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you guys next time.