Artists protest Christie's AI art auction—citing concerns over copyright violations
What's the story
Christie's, the famous fine art auction house, has announced its first-ever show dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI)-generated art. The announcement has received mixed reviews. The event, dubbed 'Augmented Intelligence,' will feature works from several artists, including Mat Dryhurst, the founder of AI start-up Spawning AI. However, the real show-stealer would be a live-painting robot at Christie's Rockefeller Center galleries in New York City from February 20.
Controversy
AI art auction sparks debate over copyright infringement
The 'Augmented Intelligence' auction announcement has ignited a debate on social media. Critics claim that many AI tools used for generating art have been trained on the works of existing artists without their permission. They argue that such exhibitions glorify this practice, overshadowing the work of traditional artists who create their pieces by hand. An open letter urging Christie's to cancel the auction has gathered over 3,000 signatures in under 24 hours.
Concerns raised
Critics highlight lack of acknowledgment from Christie's
Ed Newton-Rex, a critic of the auction, took to X to voice his concerns. He highlighted that Christie's is promoting AI art pieces from DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion — all trained on thousands of artists' works without permission. He slammed the auction house for not addressing these major issues or acknowledging the ongoing protests against such practices in their announcement.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Newton-Rex's post
On the page announcing their AI art auction, @ChristiesInc is elevating DALL-E, Midjourney & Stable Diffusion - all of which were trained on mountains of artists' work without permission - without once mentioning the huge issues with this, or the sustained, loud protests from… https://t.co/5JtEkORdhrpic.twitter.com/s91DQlbyke
— Ed Newton-Rex (@ednewtonrex) February 7, 2025