Artists Demand Cancellation of AI Art Auction

Christie's, one of the most historic auction houses, has unveiled its inaugural exhibition of AI-generated art, titled “Augmented Intelligence”.

However, over 3,500 contemporary artists have urged the global art market leader to cancel the auction. In their letter titled “Cancel the Christie's AI Art Auction,” they state that these exhibitions promote the widespread theft of artworks.

The artists are concerned that the neural networks used to create contemporary media art are being trained on other works of art, thereby infringing copyright. The letter to Christie’s notes, “These models, and the companies behind them, exploit human artists, using their work without permission or payment to build commercial AI products that compete with them.”

According to the auction house's website, the exhibition aims to “rethink the evolution of art and technology, examining human involvement in art during the AI era.” A total of twenty lots, valued between $10,000 and $250,000, are already available for auction. Featured pieces include works by pioneering digital artist Harold Cohen, as well as those by Alexander Reben, Sugwen Chang, Refik Anadol, and other notable artists. The exhibition opened on February 20 and will run until March 5.