People have speculated that OpenAi will be buying Pinterest sometime this year and many artists are outraged at the idea. For lots of people, Pinterest is their main platform for their art. It’s their space where they can post and not feel judged by anyone online.
Sophomore Caelyn Guistwite said, “Pinterest was one of the only places where I felt comfortable posting my art, but knowing that AI could take over the platform makes me worried about sharing my work. I’ve used Pinterest for around four years now, and it was a big game changer for me. I found people who actually liked my art and supported me through my growth as an artist, but now I’m scared to even post because I’m scared they are going to take my art.”
AI has slowly been creeping into Pinterest, having started with people’s artwork being altered by AI, and it has spread to full AI images sweeping across the platform. Many people looking to add artworks for things like character vision boards and art inspiration are starting to struggle to tell what is AI and what was actually made by a person.
If OpenAi actually goes through with buying Pinterest, there is a likely chance that they will take artist’s works as “references” for their AI. On several occasions AI has been seen to blatantly plagiarize artists’ styles without giving any credit or compensating the artist for the work.
Sophomore Valorie Yates said, “I think the use of AI should be allowed in scientific spaces but not in art or humanities spaces. I think it’s affected the art community because now all artists have to prove that they drew the art. It is also taking up art spaces in the community. I think AI is harmful because it can place artists and their jobs in a difficult position. I use Pinterest pretty often, almost every day for art purposes, and I think AI would make Pinterest a lot worse. There should be a lot of limits on AI usage.”
There are several people who have argued that AI is ok because it makes art more accessible to those with no art abilities. While accessibility is important, it diminishes the years of effort that other artists have spent to perfect their skills. Artists aren’t just innately good, they spend hours of their time studying things like anatomy, color theory, fabric draping, hair styles and many other things so that their art is satisfactory to their own standards. It’s not just a small passing hobby for many of these artists; it could be their career, their business or simply their passion. Some artists’ income relies on the art they make and sell.
Another big issue is the lack of consent that is given before the app takes the work. Most artists never agreed to have their art used to feed and train the AI. For many years Pinterest has been seen as a safe place for artists to share their art without fear. If that safe place is broken, artists may leave the platform altogether.
A possible OpenAI Pinterest purchase could change how artists see the platform forever. Without clear and defined rules to protect artists, Pinterest may risk losing the users who helped make it popular to begin with.
