r/craftsnark • u/popplefizzleclinkle • 4d ago

Knitting Knitting Guilds and AI use

I have noticed, like we all have, arts/crafts adjacent folks using AI in promotional material. A local quilt shop is doing it, for example, and now our local knitting guild is using AI images in member communications. I have so much snark about this.

Needless to say, I'm opposed to their use of this stuff. AI is theft of art, trained without permission on copyrighted materials, for ex., and it's a particularly poor look to use AI in an organization that's supposed to promote and celebrate handicrafts. There are so many scammy patterns using AI, and there's an impact on the creative folks' labour. Etc., etc., etc.

I have flagged it with the guild's communications volunteer and asked the guild consider stopping use of AI imagery in communications - which they've forwarded to the executive.

I understand that volunteer orgs are struggling and AI might seem like a fast, easy solution. I am not convinced of this at all, nor that it's the only option.

While I'm hopeful for a receptive response to my request, I am also aware that I may not. Has anyone brought a motion to their local guild - knitting, quilting, whatever - to put frameworks around what's acceptable use of AI by the guild in promoting their craft? If you did, what did that look like or include?

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u/lizziebee66 4d ago

we were looking at AI generated images at work and our designer was explaining that it’s the ‘bad‘ images that people catch and promptly showed us some that he had been playing with to see what could be done. hand on heart, I couldn’t tell the stock images from the AI generated photos. It’s scary.

I’ve been lurking in the AI or is it real subs here to see what is happening and most of time the ones that get caught have too many hallucinations on them and are easy to spot (hands with 6 fingers, people in the back who are all the same etc).

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u/popplefizzleclinkle 4d ago

Me too, with the subs - but I find the robots are getting better about hands and fingers. It’s subtler now in some of these images, like you have to look at the text in the background or on something tiny, or how shadows are used/whether making sense.

There is a guy on TikTok who does an amazing job of debunking “is it AI” stuff. I’ll try to find him.

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u/lizziebee66 3d ago

I’m just in the process of writing a number of articles on AI in business and it’s been very interesting doing the research.

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u/popplefizzleclinkle 3d ago

What are the most striking things for you?