Thousands of Artists Allege Midjourney Used Their Work To Train AI Software

An anonymous reader shares a report: Since the emergence of Midjourney and other image generators, artists have been watching and wondering whether AI is a great opportunity or an existential threat. Now, after a list of 16,000 names emerged of artists whose work Midjourney had allegedly used to train its AI -- including Bridget Riley, Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread, Tracey Emin, David Hockney and Anish Kapoor -- the art world has issued a call to arms against the technologists. British artists have contacted US lawyers to discuss joining a class action against Midjourney and other AI firms, while others have told the Observer that they may bring their own legal action in the UK.

'What we need to do is come together,' said Tim Flach, president of the Association of Photographers and an internationally acclaimed photographer whose name is on the list. 'This public showing of this list of names is a great catalyst for artists to come together and challenge it. I personally would be up for doing that.' The 24-page list of names forms Exhibit J in a class action brought by 10 American artists in California against Midjourney, Stability AI, Runway AI and DeviantArt. Matthew Butterick, one of the lawyers representing the artists, said: 'We've had interest from artists around the world, including the UK.'

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