"Not Your Designs": Bengaluru Artist's AI-Generated Art Sale Triggers Online Debate

A Bengaluru-based artist selling AI-generated art in the city has ignited an online debate about the legitimacy and implications of this new art form. The artist, Ashok Reddy, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday to share about his stall featuring AI-generated art. "For the first time, we opened a stall on Church Street to sell my designs, and we sold out 60-70% of our stock," he wrote while sharing pictures of the artwork and stall on the microblogging site. While Mr Reddy was ecstatic about selling his digital designs, his post caught the internet's attention for surprising reasons as many criticised him for selling "stolen" and "lazy" art.

In a series of posts, Mr Reddy shared photos and videos of his stall located on Chruch Street in Bengaluru. He said he began setting up his stall around 2pm, and within hours he was able to sell 60-70% of his digital artwork. "At around 4:30 PM, we closed our first sale and haven't looked back since. As the day progressed, more people began visiting our stall. From 8:00 to 10:00 PM, Church Street was at its peak, bustling with so many visitors that there was hardly any space to walk," he wrote in one of his posts. 

"We ended up selling around 60-70% of our stock, even though this was my first time. I learned a lot from the crowd!" he added in the following tweet. 

For the first time, we opened a stall on Church Street to sell my designs, and we sold out 60-70% of our stock (here's how it went 👇, A MINI QUICK Thread) pic.twitter.com/32frlE6CFb

— Ashok Reddy (@ashoksangireddy) May 13, 2024

While Mr Reddy was initially ecstatic about selling his AI-generated art, the backlash on social media was swift. In the comments section, several users argued that art generated via artificial intelligence lacks originality and creativity. Some even questioned its value as genuine work. 

"LMFAO ai art??? People are getting scammed," wrote one user. "these are NOT your designs theyre made using AI you have put in no effort in creating them!" expressed another. 

"So basically, they printed the AI generated images, framed it and sold! Well Done!" commented a third user. "AI generated can never be called "My designs".... Have some shame and sell something good or original. I swear the first thing that comes to AI bro's mind is to capitalise on someone else's work," said a fourth. 

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"I think you owe your customers the information that this is 100% AI + editing on top of an AI generated artwork.Also given this is AI this could be a combo of multiple copyrighted artworks, so given youre commercialising it,I'd be careful - an artist and analytics manager here," added another X user. 

However, some users supported and praised Mr Reddy's work. "Keep doing the great work; love the hustle. Will surely get one if I visit church street. Don't be bothered by the losers in the comments. They won't do anything themselves and have problems when someone else does it as well," said one user. "love the hustle. don't listen to naysayers here. they'll buy pictures of "photoshopped" models but not this lol," commented another. 

Meanwhile, despite the criticism, Mr Reddy remains undeterred and plans to continue selling his AI-generated art.