Will AI replace the painter? debate in China

　The wave of AI illustration is also in China.

　There are many people who express their feelings that they can create pictures like a popular artist, and that they do not want to use AI as learning data without permission . There is also a place to worry about what kind of story it is on the other side.

　We will introduce a consideration article in China's "Chengdu Commercial News" on whether drawing AI will replace painters and how people and drawing AI will get along.

　According to Mr. Wang, who loves AI drawing, he usually uses "Midjourney". When you enter a related word from the operation mode, AI generates an image. " The quality of the images generated by the current algorithm is relatively high. Previously, obvious flaws, such as people, were not good, but now that the new algorithm has been improved, it is generally obvious. The flaws are gone, I'm not good at drawing hands, " he said.　The illustration in this article is generated by AI.

Baidu is the mainstream in China

　The current mainstream drawing AIs include Baidu's "Bunshin Large Model ERNIE-ViLG Wensei Figure", Baidu's "Bunshin Ikkaku", Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and Novel AI. When a reporter from the Red Star Newspaper tried out the "Ernie-ViLG Wensei Figure", he entered related words such as "blue-green grassland, mountain undulations, stars twinkling in the sky, blue sky clouds" and "oil painting ”, press the “Generate” button and wait 30 seconds to generate 6 pictures.

　If I enter the same related word, will there be duplicates in the generated images? When the reporter tried it five times in a row, the completely same image was not generated, and the composition was somewhat similar with the same atmosphere.

　According to Baidu Bunshin officials, Baidu Bunshin's materials are data published on the Internet and data collections produced internally by Baidu. In the generation process, the progressive diffusion model generates from large to small spaces and from thick to thin contours, and automatically selects the optimal generation network at the generation stage.

　Li Mao, Associate Professor of the Data AI and Algorithm Art Laboratory of the Sichuan University School of Computer Science (School of Software, School of Smart Science and Technology) said, "The hot AI drawing is mainly based on the diffusion model, and its characteristics are It is possible to express the visual creativity of mankind more strongly, it has amazing visual effects, it is possible to create from related words, etc., and anyone can participate.

Expectations for supporting roles

　One cartoonist says that the greatest strengths of AI drawing are "speed" and "stability" . A picture that might take a human a week can be drawn out in less than a minute by the AI, and if you don't like it, you can retake it as many times as you want, so you don't need a break.

　In terms of color perception, AI is said to be able to stably produce color schemes that people like through deep learning. `` Even if the composition of many AI paintings is completely bad, the screen looks beautiful, this is because the color scheme is good .''

　The superiority of AI drawing is very clear. It is said that there are things such as drawing materials such as effects like this, and doing a lot of repetitive work on behalf of people.

　However, AI drawing is also not perfect, and according to Wang, using AI drawing requires a certain economic cost and trial and error cost, "If you are not very skilled, you can get the picture you want when you first start. It's difficult to do, and you need to repeatedly type in words and try again." In addition, the above-mentioned cartoonist also says that it is difficult for AI to accurately create the necessary drawings, and that there is a high degree of chance.

　Also, according to a game developer, AI drawing is mainly used for distant views in 2D games, and although it can be applied to creating monster models, AI drawing has not yet reached the level where it can be used directly. There is a problem with the perspective of the architecture, and it is difficult to balance with other materials, and the range that AI can cover is very narrow. Even in the generation of monsters, the AI ​​is only a reference, and it is necessary to do secondary processing by humans, and it may be faster to draw them yourself.

　The above-mentioned cartoonist should be smarter in word identification so that he can produce good pictures without using many technical terms. I want you to be able to generate .

Will AI surpass painters?

　According to Mr. Wang, AI drawing is mainly a supplementary reference function for the artist. About.　One cartoonist said, “I am a cartoonist, so the essential selling point is the production and content, not the painting. It's just a tool to reduce the amount of writing.For example, even if you have a fountain pen that automatically writes beautifully, it can't replace the work of a novelist."

　According to the Science and Technology Daily, assistant professor Li Mao believes that computers have, to a certain extent, transcended the limits of human creativity, imagination, culture and environment, and as a result produce images that have never been seen or imagined. , may bring new possibilities to artistic creation. Although AI drawing may have the potential to develop into a kind of independent art form, he said, "Artificial intelligence painting is not intended to replace traditional painting, but it is completely traditional. It cannot replace painting, " he said.

　According to Professor Lu Jiancheng of the School of Computer Science, Sichuan University, AI art is currently at the stage of helping people to innovate, think and feel with computer tools. , AI creates some or all of the ideas, ideas, and emotions of art, that is, AI has 'inspiration'.

Is it possible to use AI “works” for commercial purposes?

　On Chinese SNS, there are also posts about selling 1,200 yuan of AI-generated image works, and that he has registered the copyright of his own AI-generated image work. A reporter asked a question, but there was no answer. Although Mr. Maede has also sold image works generated by Midjourney, he did not answer about the specific number or price.

　Who owns the rights of works generated by AI drawing? Is it possible for commercial use? is said to be the biggest controversial point in AI drawing .

　According to Baidu Wenshin officials, in the terms of use, the generated image is on the premise that the content entered by the user does not infringe on the rights and interests of others, and the generated image is within the scope that does not violate the law. It is said that it can be used freely, and that it is ``available for commercial use within the range that does not violate the law'' .

Debate in China over rights ownership of AI works

　According to Lin Xiaomei, a partner of Sichuan Ichijo Law Firm, the current law does not have explicit provisions for AI drawings, and the provisions of the Chinese Copyright Law stipulate that "the works of Chinese citizens, corporations or other organizations may not be published Under the premise that works composed of AI drawings have copyright, the copyright should belong to the subject of AI's rights. If an AI without independent will is essentially a tool, a leveled-up version of a paintbrush, then the created work belongs to the creator or user of the AI, and ultimately belongs to citizens, legal persons or other organizations as provided for by law.

　Attorney Tan Mintao of Beijing Zhongwen (Xi'an) Law Firm said that in the current artificial intelligence field, the copyright of content created by many institutions using the institution's artificial intelligence model belongs to the institution. Although he has a certain copyright, he claims that he should not commercialize it.

　Attorney Mintao Tan thinks that although products created by AI can be used in literature, art, science, manufacturing, etc., considering the current issue of copyright ownership of AI creations, it is difficult to use AI-created products directly for commercial purposes. Is there a certain copyright risk?

　In addition, according to Mr. Koumei Hayashi, a former attorney, whether a product drawn by AI constitutes plagiarism should be analyzed concretely based on the specific situation. and failing to comply with legal or industry standards for plagiarism would not be plagiarism, otherwise it would be considered plagiarism.

Overall review

　I've told you about the "AI drawing" situation in China, but it seems that it is also expected to play an active role as an "assistant" and a source of reference materials in the fields of game and manga production.

　I also introduced the part about ownership of rights, but it is important to note that under the Copyright Act of Japan, a work is defined as "a creative expression of ideas or feelings , (Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the Act), and since AI does not have thoughts or emotions, pictures simply generated by AI are not considered copyrighted works. There seems to be no room for authors of artificial intelligence models to be copyright holders, as they are not considered subject to rights .

　On the other hand, as to why it is a problem in China, it is likely that the article corresponding to "things that express thought or feeling in a creative manner" is "intellectual achievements that are This is probably due to Article 3 of the Republic's Copyright Act .

　Such differences in legal interpretations between countries cause considerable problems in practice, so it is likely that they will be sorted out. It is also possible to generate , and it is irrational, so it is probably not allowed.