Many criticized the artist for selling 'stolen' and 'lazy' art.
A Bengaluru-based artist selling AI-generated art in the city has sparked an online debate on the legitimacy and implications of this new art form. The artist, Ashok Reddy, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday to talk about his stall of AI-generated art. “For the first time we opened a stall in Church Street to sell my designs, and we sold 60-70% of our stock,” he wrote, sharing photos of the artwork and stall on the microblogging site. While Mr Reddy was excited about the sales of his digital designs, his post caught the attention of the internet for surprising reasons as many criticized him for selling 'stolen' and 'lazy' art.
In a series of posts, Mr Reddy shared photos and videos from his stall at Chruch Street in Bengaluru. He said he started setting up his stall around 2pm and was able to sell 60-70% of his digital artwork within hours. “Around 4.30pm we closed our first sale and we haven't looked back since. As the day progressed, more and more people started to visit our stall. From 8pm to 10pm, Church Street was at its peak, bustling with so many visitors that there was barely room to walk,” he wrote in one of his posts.
“We ended up selling about 60-70% of our stock, even though this was my first time. I learned a lot from the audience!” he added in the following tweet.
For the first time we opened a stall in Church Street to sell my designs, and we sold out 60-70% of our stock (this is how it went 👇, A MINI QUICK THREAD) pic.twitter.com/32frlE6CFb
— Ashok Reddy (@ashoksangireddy) May 13, 2024
While Mr Reddy was initially ecstatic about the sales of his AI-generated art, the backlash on social media was swift. In the comments section, several users argued that art generated through artificial intelligence lacks originality and creativity. Some even questioned its value as a real work.
“LMFAO ai art??? People are getting scammed,” wrote one user. “These are NOT your designs, they were created using AI, you put no effort into creating them!” said another.
“So basically they printed, framed and sold the AI-generated images! Great job!” a third user commented. “The AI generated can never be called 'My Designs'. Shame on you and sell something good or original. I swear the first thing that comes to the minds of AI brothers is to capitalize on someone else's work,” said one fourth.
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“I think you owe your customers the information that this is 100% AI + editing on top of an AI-generated artwork. Since this is AI, this could be a combination of multiple copyrighted artworks, so as you market it , I would do that with caution – an artist and analytics manager here,” added another X user.
However, some users supported and praised Mr. Reddy's work. “Keep up the great work; love the hustle. Will definitely get one when I visit Church Street. Don't let the losers in the comments bother you. They won't do anything themselves and have problems if anyone else does it too” , said one user. “I love the hustle and bustle. Don't listen to naysayers here. They buy photos of “photoshopped” models, but not this lol,” said another.
Meanwhile, despite the criticism, Mr. Reddy remains undaunted and plans to continue selling his AI-generated art.
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