Leo Val - commissions open / looking for work

Hi Wren, Hollywood concept artist here. I don't think that's a fair comparison. Firstly, you can't really omit the copyright issues, they're fundamental to the tech and problem. OpenAI even admits their AI wouldn't work without taking copyrighted content. It's not fair use, in large part because it forces people to compete against their own work. But, let's say you try to ignore the copyright issue (which is hard because we're talking using people's work without consent, credit, or compensation), the automation aspect is a massive sticking point. It's not simply a tool, it aims to automate key aspects of creativity. The blue sky periods on productions are disappearing, I made 43% of my typical income last year, less than the first year of Covid. I was also offered a less than entry level rate on a gig that heavily used AI in their deck for a major production. In my 15 years in this industry, that's never happened. 45% of 800 artists I polled report having been asked to touch up AI, or use it as reference. That's lost work for artists. Companies and people are using it to cut costs, not make artists lives easier. Teams of 4 will be expected to do what teams of 10 used to do. People in games have been laid off, and the remaining artists forced to use AI to pick up the slack. Find @bcmerchant 's Wired article on that. This is all because copyrighted works have been used without consent or compensation. AI companies have inserted themselves as middlemen to gobble up not just the taxi or book selling industry this time, no, but all industry, especially creative ones. Even a model like the one Lionsgate is having trained isn't ethical in the slightest. Every artist I know has been hurting for work these past 2 years, young artists are giving up on their dreams, people losing their homes, and dropping out of entertainment and art altogether, all because of AI. It's not a tool, it's a replacement and it's causing irreparable damage I was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal about it if you're interested. I've been very involved in this space and have spoken at FAccT and CVPR, and am co-author on 2 papers critical of AI, one with the Glaze and Nightshade team at the University of Chicago. I'm in the trenches and we're telling you, it's bad out here. It's just exploitation all around. I'd be happy to discuss it further with you if you're interested. You should come to our Glaze and Nightshade panel at Lightbox in Pasadena in 2 weeks. wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-replace-f…