involve multiple stakeholders, including algorithm developers, data providers, and users, making the determination of copyright ownership complex. Our interviews and workshops with participants revealed divergent opinions on this matter, with no consensus reached. Echoing external voices, one respondent stated, “Current large AI models are stealing artists’ works, they are thieves.” Moreover, different countries and regions have varied legal precedents regarding the copyright of AI-generated works. For instance, on November 27, 2023, the Beijing Internet Court delivered a firstinstance judgement in case number (2023) Jing 0491 Min Chu 11279, known as the first case of copyright infringement involving AI-generated images in China. The court ruled that the image in question was directly generated based on the plaintiff’s intellectual input, reflecting the plaintiff’s personalised expression, thus granting the plaintiff the copyright of the image. Conversely, on December 11, 2023, the United States Copyright Office Review Board confirmed the refusal to register an AI-generated artwork titled SURYAST submitted by Ankit Sahni, ruling that the work “lacks the human authorship necessary to support a copyright claim.” If an AI-generated painting is used commercially by a company, who should benefit from the profits? These questions lack clear answers within the current legal framework and require updates and adjustments in laws and regulations. EMPLOYMENT RISKS Furthermore, the risk of unemployment among art professionals due to AI cannot be ignored. As AI technology advances, many artistic tasks that traditionally required human effort can now be performed by machines. This increases production efficiency but may also lead to unemployment among traditional art workers. In interviews with 13 artists, seven expressed concern that AI would lead to unemployment among art workers, particularly those in lower-level design jobs and hand-drawn artists facing competitive pressure. Finding a balance between technological progress and job security is a crucial issue that needs to be addressed. Policies and education should be considered to help these workers transition and adapt to the new technological environment. Additionally, AI art is also implicated in issues such as deep fakes, pornography, and bias. FAIRER IN THE FUTURE While the development of AI art brings numerous opportunities, it also accompanies various ethical and legal challenges. These issues are not merely technical but involve multiple aspects of society, law, and ethics. Our research aims to engage in comprehensive discussions with artists and the general public to analyse the impact of AI on the art field, explore the opportunities and challenges it presents, and seek ways to establish fair and mutually beneficial commercial relationships between artists and products like MidJourney and Firefly. Only through multi-stakeholder cooperation and in-depth research can we enjoy the convenience and creativity brought by AI art while effectively addressing these issues, thus creating a better environment for the future development of art. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 45 Mengjun Tao is a PhD Researcher in the Department of Marketing. His research looks at the influence of AI on the art business market, exploring individuals’ perceptions of the authenticity and trust in AI art, as well as ethical issues such as copyright. m.tao2@lancaster.ac.uk
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTI5NzM=