Whenever I try to find a product, I get inundated with low quality ones with AI generated images on them. Is there a way I can filter them out so I can give money to artists?
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On some search engines and other sites adding “-AI” to your search weeds out AI results, but I just tried this on the Zazzle search and instead it only brought up items that had been tagged AI. What I did notice is that my search without the tag definitely brought up some items that used AI art which were not included in the AI results, but I guess were not tagged as being AI. So, I don’t think there’s a way that Zazzle would be able to set up a search that accurately filtered out AI unless creators were all tagging their AI artwork as such.
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This is an excellent idea, and one that a newly suggested idea of adding an AI generated content checkbox (instead of the current required hashtag) could do the trick.
I would also like to see image libraries (like CreativeFabrica, etc.) add a feature to eliminate AI art from their search results. Right now, I search commercial image libraries by using the terms, “vector art” or “eps” as my way of filtering out AI art.
One way to create accurate search results (filtering out AI art) on Zazzle would be to add a required AI Generated checkbox and a Does Not Contain AI art checkbox that must be checked in order to finish publishing a product.
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Not at present, but hopefully Zazzle would adjust and add a setting for sellers to indicate the use of AI. Zazzle is behind on dealing with AI designs. It’s getting harder to shop here because the search results are filling with bad AI works, even in the super obscure niches that appeal to me. If customers come here and see a wall of AI, they’ll bounce and write Zazzle off entirely instead of searching to find the real stuff.
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The checkbox would be great! Of course, that would still rely on the honesty of designers admitting that they are using AI. And also I think some people who use purchased graphics don’t even know they are AI images because sites like Creative Fabrica don’t specify it. I mean, most of us can tell, but I think some people don’t realize it.
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I will pass on your suggestion @Deirdre
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True. And there’s all the gray area of what constitutes an AI design. Does it count if you used AI to develop your idea but created it by hand? What about if you used AI to sketch out your idea and used it as a reference for creating your designs? There are so many ways AI can be involved in your design besides just a completely generated AI artwork.
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@tiffjamaica Actually, grabbing an idea from AI is no different from grabbing ideas from nature or buildings or people walking down the street. Throughout history, artists have copied what they’ve seen even if their ultimate goal was creating an abstraction. The use of AI for inspiration is quite different from using it to put something together in its entirety.
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Even so, it’s still using AI and if there’s a checkbox asking if you used AI in your design, do you check it or not … that’s the question.
Some shoppers are opposed to any use of AI for various reasons and they may want to know if any part of our designs came from it. Others don’t care at all. I’ve talked with people who are against the use of AI even in the idea stages. It’s just a lot of gray area right now. I’m not opposed to a checkbox, I just think “AI Generated” needs some defining.
As an artist, I struggle with figuring out exactly where I land in the argument - one day I agree with what you said, and another day it feels like total fraud! 🙃 I understand why artists would want to utilize it and also why they’d be totally against it. It’s a conundrum.
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I doubt a person would or should feel obligated to say what inspired them no matter where the idea came from, including AI.
As for me, I don’t like the look of AI, and more than that, I don’t like that it feeds off real artisits.
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I feel the same way, Barbara.
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Thank you very much!
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That is true. A while back I was experimenting with photobashing and unknowingly was using AI images. Tossed out an entire section of the piece once I realized it was AI.
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I subscribe to a pile of artists on YouTube, which is where I found out about someone who entered an illustration contest, which he won. Then swarms of real artists wrote to the organizers to say the person had used AI. They were able to pick it out immediately and describe the clues. The guy was booted from the roster of winners.
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I made the suggestion over a year ago to have a drop-down box in the search for generative content (Ai) paintings, photograph and other. But as you can see no such category dropdown is being offered at Z.
I have had a year to think about it and I wonder if the breakdown would slow down the shopping experience: If customers want to compare different types of artwork, they must repeatedly open and close the dropdowns. This makes comparing across categories slower than if all categories were shown. Honestly, I think the way Z does the marketplace is the best for the customer. Example a watercolor digital or painted floral thank you card…just show everything to the customer and let them decide what they want. I think if the customer has to compare AI to Painting that you might lose the sale because it’s too time consuming. Anyway, that’s my opinion …and by the way I sell more Ai digital artwork than my original photographs or original painting. Alos I wish it was as easy as putting in a few prompts and creating magic., it takes me hours to create a digital watercolor, and sometimes I walk away and come back the next day to recreate. AI is not as easy as everyone thinks
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You got me thinking about the broader subject, which is that there’s a lot of AI on Zazzle, but there are also lots of designs built from clipart or manipulated photos, and they don’t require a special category, so why AI? If that’s what the customer likes and wants, why should they have trouble finding it? I think artists see AI as a threat, and in a way it is, but it isn’t the same as that contest I described where someone managed to deceive the judges. AI is deceit only when the creators claim they did it with their own camera, pencil, pen, or paint. I’ve yet to see an example of such deceit here on Zazzle. Omission, yes, but deceit, no.
Those of us who are artists should take a look at what happened when photography showed up and the artists thought they were doomed.
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I follow Zazzle’s policy for tagging “generative content,” and I always include a note in my product descriptions: “AI-created design by Susang6.” That means I created the artwork myself my design using AI watercolor. Nothing is downloaded from an online platform or sourced through mass art licenses.
I know not every creator tags their AI work, and not every product on Zazzle is labeled as generative content. I also know many designers use licensed artwork from places like Creative Market to build beautiful products. That’s valid but it’s not the same as original art.
There’s a difference between buying a license and building something from scratch. I think of that watercolorist in Australia she paints every invitation by hand, and it takes her days. That’s art. That’s the kind of work I respect and try to reflect. But I still think it’s wrong to have a dropdown box to filter out AI generated products. It’s just not friendly to the customer. I think it’s best for the customer to see everything at the marketplace and allow them to buy the product design that they like.
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I have an AI watercolor of Alaskan moose wall art at my store. That was created over three days using my own calibrated process. This is not stock art or a licensed download it’s mine, built from scratch.. I would not be happy if my AI art was filtered out of the marketplace and put into a dropdown box.
I agree with you that it’s deceitful to submit artwork as original human created to a contest. But wonder if the rules said no AI generated? Anymore you have to have that written in contest rules. It hits me wrong, like when I submitted an original photo of nature to a local contest. The rule said no editing allowed, and the winner clearly used photoshop, it was beautiful but still did not abide by the rules of the contest.
As an admin in the AI artwork group, I am astounded by what’s being shared as AI created products. Some are image based, then enhanced using aI tools, then there is aI typographic, or digitally styled. That includes anything not hand-drawn or painted by a human using traditional tools. (pencils brushes, pens)
I do know that Zazzle wants all AI products tagged with “generative content” and I think a large percentage of creators are doing that, yes there are a few that fall through the cracks. If the product description and tags was moved to the top closer to the product image then the customer would know that it was aI created. But with so many “other designers” products on the seller’s page, the description and tags are pushed to the bottom.
it’s also worth noting that not all AI-assisted work is low quality many creators use these tools to create works of art they want to create artwork that will sell. For me AI is not easy, its digital, artistic skill.
I feel that filtering AI, photography, and painter-created works into separate dropdowns might seem like a solution for transparency, but it risks fragmenting the browsing customer experience. Instead of helping customers compare styles or make informed choices, it could unintentionally slow them down or frustrate them into leaving altogether.
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The contest had strict rules, so for better or worse, the person submitting AI art broke the rules.
Images affect people at a basic level, something that’s very difficult to analyze or apply rules to. One of Picasso’s famous sculptures happened when he was looking at a bicycle. Inspired, he took the handlebars and stuck them on the seat, turning it into an image of a steer. Did he actually create anything, or did he simply rearrange two parts of a bike? Enjoy: https://www.pablopicasso.org/bull-head.jsp
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