Disney and Universal Studios recently filed a lawsuit against the generative AI tool Midjourney. You’ve probably already guessed the reason: this tool allows users to create new images featuring well-known movie characters created by the film studios. Think, for example, of Disney princesses or the Minions from Despicable Me. This is actually the first time that major Hollywood names have publicly spoken out against the use of AI tools in connection with creative expressions!
What are the charges against Midjourney?
Disney and Universal allege that Midjourney’s tool has hijacked the libraries of both film studios to create unauthorized copies. After all, the tool allows users to create new images featuring existing film characters, which are, of course, protected by copyright. Disney and Universal therefore claim that Midjourney has infringed their copyright. The complaint states that plagiarism remains plagiarism even when generated by AI. According to the film studios, they asked the developers of the AI tool multiple times to stop this, but never received a response.
AI Faces Significant Criticism from the Creative Industry
From the moment generative AI began to emerge, there was already a great deal of criticism from the creative industry. That criticism is naturally growing louder now, as the capabilities of AI tools continue to expand. We’re already seeing music that’s been entirely generated by AI tools, complete with lyrics and all. Recently, it even came to light that certain authors had had their entire books written by AI. So it’s no surprise that people in creative professions are feeling anxious about this rapid progress. After all, it seems plausible that artificial intelligence could take over their work in the future!
Will AI really cause jobs to disappear?
Opinions are naturally divided on this, as much of it is still speculation. We cannot predict how quickly AI will advance or how far we can take it. However, many experts say it is alarmist to claim that artificial intelligence will take away jobs. That said, many jobs will look different, as we increasingly use AI as a support tool. So there’s a good chance you’ll have to learn to work with artificial intelligence, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your job will no longer exist in a few years. After all, someone has to control the AI agents so they produce the right output.