itch.io

Where did the pixel art in the generator’s dataset come from?

I’ve seen AI images here on Itch.io that appear to have been based on the actual art made by people I know from other sites. I’ve been wondering if that’s somehow a coincidence.

I’ve also seen pixel artists give up on sharing any art online because the constant scraping of all our work wore them out. Other pixel artists who used to lead drawing events pulled back behind paywalls to reduce abuse. With what I’ve witnessed in other art forms, it’s hard to believe the pixel “art” programs were built on as much stolen art as the other types were.

But it would be a tiny amount or comfort (with how the AI industry is burning up our planet, polluting essential resources for quick text-to-image-to-text and chatbot production, and spreading harmful propaganda developed by artist-hating fascists) if these responses from other pixel artists were from paranoia, not actual abuse.

(I know my writing, photos, and graphic designs were scraped without my consent. I’m not sure my pixel art has.)