Massive Chinese Artists' Boycott Sparks Global Outrage: Social Media Platform Stunned by AI-generated Image Controversy

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China's artists are currently engaging in a boycott against a leading social media platform within the country. The boycott stems from grievances related to the platform's AI image generation tool.

In August, the controversy was ignited by an illustrator known as Snow Fish, who accused the privately owned social media platform Xiaohongshu of utilizing her artwork for training its AI tool, Trik AI, without her consent or knowledge. Trik AI is specifically designed for creating digital art inspired by traditional Chinese paintings and is currently in the testing phase prior to its official launch.

Snow Fish, identified by her Xiaohongshu username for privacy reasons, discovered the issue after receiving posts of artwork from the platform that closely resembled her distinct style: fluid brush-like strokes, vibrant bursts of red and orange, and depictions of nature's beauty.

A digital artwork by Chinese artist Snow Fish.

Courtesy Snow Fish

Snow Fish asked Trik AI, "Why are your AI-generated images so similar to my original works?" The post quickly gained attention and spread among her followers and the artist community. This controversy arose shortly after China introduced regulations for generative AI. By doing so, China became one of the first countries to govern this technology, highlighting the global concern regarding AI's potential effects on employment, national security, and intellectual property.

Screenshots of AI-generated artworks on Xiaohongshu, taken by the artist Snow Fish.

Trik AI and Xiaohongshu, boasting 260 million monthly active users, have chosen not to disclose the materials used for training the program, and they have refrained from making any public statements regarding the allegations.

The companies did not respond to CNN's repeated requests for comment. However, Snow Fish confirmed that she received an apology from a person using the official Trik AI account via a private message. The message acknowledged the unauthorized use of her art for training the program and agreed to delete the specific posts. CNN has verified the authenticity of these messages.

Snow Fish is demanding a public apology, triggering online protests in China against the creation and utilization of AI-generated images. Numerous other artists have also come forward, alleging that their works were used without their consent. On Xiaohongshu, hundreds of artists have displayed banners expressing their opposition to AI-generated images, and a hashtag related to the controversy has garnered over 35 million views on Weibo, a Chinese platform similar to Twitter.

The boycott in China arises amidst ongoing global discussions surrounding the implementation of AI in the realms of arts and entertainment. This debate has extended to the United States, where discontented writers and actors have brought film and television production to a standstill due to various concerns, including the studios' utilization of AI.

Artists speak out

Echoing similar complaints from artists worldwide, many of the artists boycotting Xiaohongshu are demanding improved regulations to safeguard their online work. Such concerns have escalated due to the rapid development and release of AI tools, including OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard, outpacing governmental regulations.

Chinas tech giants, too, are rapidly developing their own generative artificial intelligence, from Baidus ERNIE Bot launched in March to SenseTimes chatbot SenseChat.

Artwork by Erin Hanson

Courtesy Erin Hanson

The artists discovered their artwork was being utilized to train AI, causing them to become infuriated. In addition to Trik AI, Xiaohongshu has introduced a new feature called "Ci Ke," enabling users to share content with AI-generated images.

According to Snow Fish, the issue lies not in the technology behind AI, but rather in the manner in which these tools utilize artists' work without their permission or giving them due credit. Numerous AI models are trained using images of artwork sourced from the internet without obtaining consent or providing compensation to the human creators.

According to Snow Fish, these complaints have been gradually increasing among the artist community, but until now, they were mostly shared privately rather than openly protested.

"This is an uprising," she stated. "Unless it creates a significant impact, people will remain silent, allowing AI developers to continue violating our rights."

Another Chinese illustrator, identified by CNN as Zhang to protect his privacy, also participated in the boycott to show support. Zhang criticized the company, stating, "Their actions are disgraceful. Instead of creating original content, they simply borrow elements from other artists' work and pass it off as their own. Is that acceptable?"

He further expressed his concern about the future, stating that AI-generated images will be devalued and regarded as cheap commodities, similar to plastic bags. He believes that the prevalence of AI-generated images will contribute to a widespread issue of pollution, just like plastic pollution. Zhang added that leaders in the tech industry and AI developers prioritize their own profits over respecting the rights of artists.

Alena Shafieva/Moment RF/Getty Images

New tools aiming to safeguard art and images from AI's influence have provided a means for us to retaliate. Tianxiang He, an associate professor of law at City University of Hong Kong, acknowledges that the utilization of AI-generated images sparks significant inquiries within the artistic community, questioning the essence of "authentic" art and the methods to conserve its inherent "spiritual value."

Other parts of the world have also witnessed similar boycotts against well-known AI image creation tools like Stable Diffusion, which was launched by Stability AI, a London-based company, and Midjourney, a company based in California.

Stable Diffusion is currently involved in a lawsuit filed by Getty Images, a major stock image company, accusing it of copyright infringement.

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Race to regulate AI

Despite the speed at which AI image generation tools are being developed, there is "no global consensus about how to regulate this kind of training behavior," said He.

According to him, tech giants, who have immense databases, develop numerous tools that enable them to perform various actions, without considering whether they are legally protected or not. As Trik AI has a smaller database to rely on, the resemblances between its AI-generated content and the original works of artists are more apparent. This, in turn, simplifies the legal case.

Cases of copyright infringement would be harder to detect if more works were put in a larger database, he added.

This illustration picture shows the AI (Artificial Intelligence) smartphone app ChatGPT surrounded by other AI App in Vaasa, on June 6, 2023.

Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images

China has made significant progress in the regulation of generative AI services such as ChatGPT. The global community is faced with the challenge of establishing universal guidelines for this vast technology. In June, the European Union took the lead in implementing regulations on AI usage, while the United States is currently engaged in discussions with lawmakers and tech companies in order to formulate legislation.

China was among the first to embrace AI regulation and implemented new rules in August. However, the final version of these regulations toned down some of the stricter language found in earlier drafts. According to experts, countries such as China tend to prioritize consolidating power from technology giants and advancing in the global tech race, rather than emphasizing individual rights.

The Hong Kong law professor criticized the regulations, stating that they are a "broad regulatory framework" lacking specific control mechanisms to regulate data mining. According to him, China is cautious about implementing any legislation related to data mining, as it could pose risks and negatively impact the emerging market in the midst of a sluggish national economy.