Artificial intelligence (AI) in art has been sprouting up everywhere in the past couple of years. Perhaps one has come across it scrolling on TikTok or Instagram or even had experience using it to create entertaining pictures through software like DALLE, which creates realistic images from other publicly available images and pieces of artwork.
Besides the progress it has brought it in the tech world, it has come with its fair share of artistic criticisms. Not all AI art sources are ethical in the way they collect and use data and, even if they are, people fear what this means for the future of art and what risk it brings to artists and even other careers such as adult entertainment as people’s faces and likenesses are being stolen.
One of the AI art sources coming under fire is Lensa AI. It launched back in 2018 and served the purpose of transforming real images into artistic pictures. Over time and with increased popularity in the field, they have had to be more transparent about their images and privacy.
Besides the criticism related to the uncertainty around what they store and what they take from others, they have been known to lighten skin and make people more sexualized and thinner. These choices reflect a gross standard for what a larger society believes people should like and reduce diversity in art and create shame in people. The user also does not explicitly consent to these things being done to their image.
The public light given to the app is what caused Tom Hanson, his firm Loevy & Loevy and a group of Illinois residents to sue Lensa for their facial geometry software that seems to violate Illinois’ 2008 Biometrics Information and Privacy Act (2008). If an organization is to take a biometric, or a statistical analysis related to behavioral or physical characteristics, from an individual, under this law they must not profit from it, must have informed consent and have a limited right to disclosure.
Seemingly based on the lack of metric of biometrics related to the face in the privacy information of Lensa, they have violated these terms. The lawsuit has only recently been filed in California Federal Court and has ways to go before it reaches a larger scale.
“Lensa continues to be one of the most downloaded apps in the country, which is why this lawsuit—and Prisma Labs’ compliance with BIPA—is so urgently needed,” Loevy & Loevy attorney Mike Kanovitz said. “Prisma Labs has been unlawfully collecting users’ biometric data without their consent. This is in violation of Illinois law, and deeply concerning for anyone who believes in data privacy.”
Thus far, Lensa AI and their larger company Prisma labs have not made a statement on the situation.
However, this shows the increasing danger of AI and their ability to store data in what seems like a harmless fun way to see a new perspective on oneself. No matter how the lawsuit ends up, consumers should keep their eye out on ways to stay safe in an emerging AI world.
