Comment AI "art" on Etsy == basic fraud and violating TOS (Score 5, Insightful) 87
Most of the comments here seem to be missing the point of the article in favor of pedantic, distracting, or trollish comments about the nature of art, so I'll log in for the first time in ten years to give it a go.
The article asserts (yeah, I read it) that Etsy is a platform where people go to buy art/products/objects with the implicit agreement that there is a modicum of human endeavor and creativity put into producing these objects.
It's in the TOS that these objects are "handmade", which is a term that has a lot of wiggle room in it and there are certainly grey areas here. However, according to the article, Etsy policy says sellers are required to disclose the "names and roles of people who help make your items". AI produced objects cannot, by definition, do this-- they're un-copyrightable to start with.
Anyone who wants to argue about what "handmade" and "art" means here, I invite you to pick up a copy of "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" and stick it where the sun don't shine.
In addition, a lot of AI produced product sold on Etsy is the result of typing in OTHER artists names (the photographer Jingna Zhang is given an example) into LLMs that have been trained on their work and style (a style that took years of practice, effort, and talent to perfect) and then selling mass produced copies, indistinguishable from the original in any meaningful way.
This devalues not only the original artists work, but ALL work sold on Etsy since it calls into question the "human-made-ness" of everything sold on the platform.
"Human-made-ness" is important here, because a great many people value the training, practice, and skill it takes to learn a craft, and the beauty of "human-made" things created with that craft. It provides a sense of connection to fellow humans and can inspire a sense of wonder and awe at the miracle of human endeavor. Objects created with talent and skill can evoke an emotional connection to the artist and other people that experience that work in a very real way (if you're a person that has emotions and feelings). This is one of the things people value about art, and an ESSENTIAL, albeit difficult-to-define, value-add to "handmade" objects being sold on Etsy. This entire system and value structure is now being called into question.
Whether or not you value connection to other people, wonder, beauty, and creativity is not the point here. If you don't, I feel bad for you, but even the most misanthropic troll can see that this is a case where scammers are flooding an existing market with sub-standard or misleading product due to loosely enforced (or unenforceable) policy.
The fact that this very real devaluation of human talent, creativity, and skill at a global scale seems to bring a lot of people a perverse sense of glee is baffling and depressing to me.
Maybe I'll go make a watercolor out of it.
The article asserts (yeah, I read it) that Etsy is a platform where people go to buy art/products/objects with the implicit agreement that there is a modicum of human endeavor and creativity put into producing these objects.
It's in the TOS that these objects are "handmade", which is a term that has a lot of wiggle room in it and there are certainly grey areas here. However, according to the article, Etsy policy says sellers are required to disclose the "names and roles of people who help make your items". AI produced objects cannot, by definition, do this-- they're un-copyrightable to start with.
Anyone who wants to argue about what "handmade" and "art" means here, I invite you to pick up a copy of "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" and stick it where the sun don't shine.
In addition, a lot of AI produced product sold on Etsy is the result of typing in OTHER artists names (the photographer Jingna Zhang is given an example) into LLMs that have been trained on their work and style (a style that took years of practice, effort, and talent to perfect) and then selling mass produced copies, indistinguishable from the original in any meaningful way.
This devalues not only the original artists work, but ALL work sold on Etsy since it calls into question the "human-made-ness" of everything sold on the platform.
"Human-made-ness" is important here, because a great many people value the training, practice, and skill it takes to learn a craft, and the beauty of "human-made" things created with that craft. It provides a sense of connection to fellow humans and can inspire a sense of wonder and awe at the miracle of human endeavor. Objects created with talent and skill can evoke an emotional connection to the artist and other people that experience that work in a very real way (if you're a person that has emotions and feelings). This is one of the things people value about art, and an ESSENTIAL, albeit difficult-to-define, value-add to "handmade" objects being sold on Etsy. This entire system and value structure is now being called into question.
Whether or not you value connection to other people, wonder, beauty, and creativity is not the point here. If you don't, I feel bad for you, but even the most misanthropic troll can see that this is a case where scammers are flooding an existing market with sub-standard or misleading product due to loosely enforced (or unenforceable) policy.
The fact that this very real devaluation of human talent, creativity, and skill at a global scale seems to bring a lot of people a perverse sense of glee is baffling and depressing to me.
Maybe I'll go make a watercolor out of it.
