Artists protest Christie's AI art auction in New York

Critics pen open letter alleging mass theft

Thousands of artists have called on Christie's to cancel its upcoming Augmented Intelligence auction, claiming that artificial intelligence (AI)-generated artworks featured in the sale were created using stolen intellectual property. As per Guardian, the auction, set to begin on February 20, is being promoted as the first AI-dedicated sale by a major auction house, with works priced between $10,000 and $250,000.

A public letter protesting the auction has amassed 3,000 signatures, including from artists Karla Ortiz and Kelly McKernan, both of whom are involved in lawsuits against AI companies for allegedly using their work without permission to train image-generation models.

"Many of the artworks you plan to auction were created using AI models that are known to be trained on copyrighted work without a license," the letter states. "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."

Among the artists featured in the auction are Refik Anadol and the late Harold Cohen, a pioneer of AI-generated art. However, critics argue that at least nine of the works included in the sale were created using AI tools trained on artists' work without consent.

Christie's has defended its selection, stating that "in most cases" the AI models used had been trained on the artists' "own inputs." Still, the controversy highlights a growing rift between the art world and AI developers, as creatives, including musicians, writers, and visual artists, continue to push back against what they see as the unlicenced use of their work in training AI models.

As legal battles over AI and intellectual property rights unfold, the response to this auction may set a precedent for how AI-generated art is treated in the traditional art market.