Kelly McKernan expressed feeling unwell upon discovering that her artwork had been utilized to train an artificial intelligence system. Out of curiosity, she entered her name into a website called Have I Been Trained, which searches the LAION data set that fuels AI image generators like Stable Diffusion. To her surprise, she found over 50 pieces of her artwork uploaded onto LAION. McKernan, a watercolor and acrylic illustrator from Tennessee, emphasized how this revelation changed her relationship with her artwork, feeling violated by the fact that her name could be used to create a book cover without hiring her. She asserted that this not only affected her career but also impacted other artists. Joined by Sarah Anderson, a cartoonist, and Karla Ortiz, an illustrator, McKernan filed a lawsuit against Stability AI, the company behind Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and DeviantArt. Stability AI has faced legal action before, with Getty Images alleging unauthorized copying and processing of millions of their images. Issues surrounding AI's impact on artists have prompted artist Eva Toorenent, primarily focused on creature design, monster, and fantasy illustrations, to join forces with five other artists to establish the European Guild of Artificial Intelligence Regulation. Both McKernan and Toorenent advocate for increased regulation and protection for artists. They believe that copyright protections should extend beyond complete images and encompass AI usage as a means to replace artists unfairly.

While Stability AI mentioned that artists could opt out of future iterations of Stable Diffusion, which artists felt should be an opt-in default, the company declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings. Artists' concerns over AI have been echoed by Equity, a performing arts and entertainment union, which highlights the inadequacy of the current rights framework for artists in the face of generative AI's business opportunities. The European Union has proposed the EU AI Act, which mandates disclosure of copyrighted material used to train AI tools. In the UK, an AI safety summit will take place to address these pressing issues. Intellectual property lawyer Arty Rajendra highlights the complex nature of AI's use of protected data and suggests that settlements and licensing fees may arise from future legal cases. Rajendra cites examples of photographers pursuing legal action and suggests that artists can employ watermarks to track usage or pursue legal action through small claims tracks. While regulators lag behind, software tools such as Glaze, developed by Ben Zhao, a professor of computer science at the University of Chicago, are emerging to help safeguard artists' work from generative AI models. Glaze works by altering the perception of artwork by AI models while minimizing visual changes apparent to humans. Zhao claims that Glaze has received a tremendous response from artists worldwide, with nearly 938, 600 downloads and numerous messages of support. Eva Toorenent remains optimistic about the potential for artists to triumph in their fight for protection, noting the shift in public opinion from demanding artists adapt to recognizing the concerning nature of these practices.