Etsy, an online marketplace, has provided an update on the selling of AI-generated goods and announced plans to continue “supporting artists through the evolution of art.”
The e-commerce company published new “Creativity Standards” that aim to “keep commerce human.” Sellers can now only list products they have created, produced, sourced, or curated.
Unlike other sites coping with an inflow of AI-generated sludge, Etsy generates money by putting items into the hands of customers.
It appears that the corporation is attempting to get ahead of the problem by introducing new labels to help purchasers distinguish between handmade or vintage goods and AI-generated garbage.
The new “Designed” label is most likely a reaction to the growing prevalence of AI-generated objects that have taken over the previously handmade marketplace.
Etsy has faced significant criticism in recent years for permitting AI art, citing its influence on more traditional artists. AI tools may replicate artists’ techniques and make artwork.
Despite ethical issues, the service has embraced this technology.
In a post describing new ‘Creativity Standards’ published today, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman described a new requirement for sellers to mark their products based on their level of involvement in their creation.
For example, a hand-knitted scarf would require a different label than a collection of stickers created using AI-generated imagery.
“Permitted examples of this might include a fantasy scene based on a seller’s original prompt or inputs and produced by an AI generator, or a custom portrait of a buyer’s pet generated using AI tools,” the company stated. “Sellers must disclose within their listing description if an item is created with the use of AI.”
As per the statement, Etsy will not allow the selling of AI prompt bundles, which it considers to be a violation of its creative guidelines.
“We believe that the prompts used to generate AI artwork are an integral part of the creative process and should not be sold separately from the final artwork,” the company wrote on its blog.
Etsy emphasises that these standards are open to change and are following developing concerns about AI’s ethical and environmental consequences.
We earlier reported that Time magazine and OpenAI have inked a multi-year content agreement to grant the ChatGPT creator access to Time magazine’s news archive.