Exploring the 16,000-Artist Ensemble and Legal Echoes in the Realm of AI-Generated Imagery

Midjourney, renowned in the realm of artificial intelligence alongside OpenAI and DALL-E, distinguishes itself by specializing in the creation of images based on textual descriptions. Its prowess lies in an expansive database, housing pivotal artworks that play a crucial role in honing the generative capabilities of the AI. Recently, a revelation on X during the New Year’s weekend unveiled the development of Midjourney’s database, encompassing styles, genres, movements, tools, and techniques from a myriad of artists. Notably, Jon Lam from Riot Games shared illuminating screenshots capturing discussions among Midjourney’s developers, shedding light on the genesis of this now-famous artistic repository.

Midjourney developers caught discussing laundering, and creating a database of Artists (who have been dehumanized to styles) to train Midjourney off of. This has been submitted into evidence for the lawsuit. Prompt engineers, your “skills” are not yourshttps://t.co/wAhsNjt5Kz pic.twitter.com/EBvySMQC0P

— Jon Lam #CreateDontScrape (@JonLamArt) December 31, 2023

Within Exhibit J, a sprawling 24-page dossier housing the artists enlisted for Midjourney’s image generator training, a constellation of high-profile modern and contemporary names emerge. Notably, illustrators from renowned entities like Hasbro, Magic the Gathering, and Nintendo feature prominently in this artistic symphony. The eclectic roster spans luminaries such as Andy Warhol, Anish Kapoor, Yayoi Kusama, Gerhard Richter, Frida Kahlo, and an array of visionaries from Walt Disney to Banksy.

Access the comprehensive list of 16,000 artists utilized by Midjourney, a pivotal piece of evidence in a legal battle against Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt, on this link—initiated months ago and fortified with an additional 455 pages of evidence on November 29th. The aftermath of this revelation, in conjunction with the September ruling by the United States Copyright Review Commission, deeming Midjourney-generated images non-copyrightable due to their unique creation method, sets the stage for an intriguing unfolding narrative. Anticipation lingers for the impact this disclosure will have, with a foreseeable surge in mobilization among the vibrant community of creative professionals.