AI tools for the Internet of VALUE ?
By and for independent artists on the web3
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Some team members at Mirlo Studio, founder of MIRLOS, have been considering using AI software tools for their projects. After just getting started, we are writing this post to share our approach for our first steps.
Premise: We are creators with diverse training and experiences in the real world. Therefore we see our computer as a tool, and so it is for any software we dices to use. We are ready to embrace new tech that makes it easier for us to create and offer what we do. Nevertheless, since we value what we do, we carefully consider any tool only if it can actually bring real value… We believe in the promises of the web3 only, defined as the Internet of Value.
Criteria to choose valuable AI tools
At Mirlo Studio, when we look for an AI tool we want value for value. Therefore two main questions arise:
What is this AI software giving me?
Fun Entertainment → is working with this AI a joyful experience, a bit like playing?
Useful Assistance → is this AI assisting me in my projects and easing my workflow?
A complete service → is this AI solving great challenges and even enriching my own projects?
License for the use of the AI software → Do I get a limited or an extended license to use the software? What are the conditions and limitations?
Intellectual Property of the outcome generated with this AI assistant → When using this AI, who is the Intellectual Property owner of the out-coming piece?
Moral Rights over the outcome → Am I the author of the piece generated with the assistance of this AI?
Commercial Rights over the outcome → Am I entitled to use commercially and/or extend licenses about the outcome I have created with the assistance of the AI?
What am I giving away in exchange?
Personal data → do I have to provide an email or other personal information (Social media profiles, etc.) to access this software service?
Time and Learning effort → what does the learning curve look like until I get interesting results from this AI for my own projects?
Original uploads → Can I upload my works to generate new pieces with the assistance of this AI?
Intellectual Property ownership of original uploads → what happens with the I.P. ownership and use of my uploads (images, music)? Do I keep it?
Moral Rights of original uploads (Authorship & Attribution) → will this AI respect my moral rights/authorship in the outcome generated from my original uploads thus declaring the due attribution?
Use Licenses of my work for tech development only → is this AI assuming a license to use my uploads, and any generated work only for machine learning and tech developments or I am giving away a larger use license?
Commercial Rights for the outcome → Am I giving away all commercial rights for the pieces generated with the assistance of this AI?
When exploring a new tool, the answers can be very different depending on the artist, the software, and the project we intend to use it.
Using the matrix above, we can force ourselves into a necessary reflection, all while avoiding falling into the hype for software that might be much less useful to us than it looks. Of course, this approach only works if you are a professional with some projects in mind, and by carefully reading the Terms of Service of the different tools that you decide to consider. Some tools were rapidly discarded, considering their fairly abusive and concerning terms for artists and creators.
Examples and choices at Mirlo Studio today
Since we are just getting started, at Mirlo Studio we are neither rejecting nor endorsing any of the tools we find. We think there is still space for adjustments for many AI services, and we hope AI developers may consider the views of their users, also when writing their terms and designing their business models. This is actually how it goes in the real world for licensing contracts (a P2P practice), despite how the web2.0 imposed other abusive practices in recent years.
Therefore, only for the sake of those more curious about our authors at Mirlo Studio, we want to share some of their first choices while testing the AI waters.
For writing → we are testing Sudowrite where you own the copyright to what you write. “Anything you write in Sudowrite and anything Sudowrite suggests for you belongs to you.”
For image animation & Video edition → we are testing Runwayml, and also Playform (combined with Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro)
For music → still exploring: so far Aiva looks interesting (combined with Sibelius and Adobe Audition) yet you can only retain the copyrights in their most expensive plan, which is pretty discouraging for professionals.
Finally, it might be also good to clarify that we look forward to find Open Source AI solutions, which are free and audited by an Open Community (and there should not be data-trafficking). Nevertheless, the best open AI solutions for artists, like Sats4ai, don’t always come with clear and acceptable terms of service. It is sadly surprising to see how communities developing AI open source software sometimes pretend to take absolute control of the content produced by users of the software. Most of the time you loose control over what you upload. It is like you are forced to give away your time and the result of your own efforts and creativity. This is also the reason why at Mirlo Studio we are getting started using images in the Public Domain… See the one below, created from the original painting “Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer” by Caspar David Friedrich.
*We are testing → For us testing means: 1. using materials that are already on in the Internet and whose copyrights do not involve any major value on the web; 2. we remain in control of the distribution of what we create. We believe it is important not to share via general channels or in the platforms created and proposed by the AI we use. It is preferable to show a bit of what you are able to do via your own channels, and wait to be able to sell your work directly on the Internet of Value.
Conclusion: Since we want to head towards the Internet of Value, it is only fair to be vigilant and challenge software developers to provide tools and services that can assist us, without invading our rights and stealing our property (and valuable time). This is a crucial moment to stand for our rights, and not give up on our human creativity. We will only fall for technology that provides Value for Value. Mirlo Studio
We hope the experience we bring to the MIRLOS community can be of use, or at least stir a debate. Moreover, we would love to hear any suggestions for AI tools that you think are worth exploring.