Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing many fields, including the arts. AI is increasingly being used in all aspects of the arts, including the actual generation of the artwork. Apart from that, technology is being used to curate exhibitions and create new visual trends. These create new opportunities, but they also raise legal issues. Who actually owns artwork generated by AI? Can artwork generated by AI have intellectual property rights over it in the form of copyright? What constitutes authenticity in artwork when the main party involved is not human but AI?
AI Art and Ethics
The use of AI to create artwork is associated with many ethical issues, such as authorship, originality and its impact on human artists. It is difficult to determine the authorship when an AI is involved in the process. For instance, can the authorship be associated with the AI, the user who provided the prompt or the developer of the software? The development of AI presents an ethical question on whether machines can be termed artists.
Issues also linger with regard to human artists. Organisations might prefer AI to human skill because computers are capable of producing works of art faster and at a cheaper cost than human artists. For artists who are financially dependent on their creations, this may limit their options.
Large datasets that frequently contain artwork from other cultures, sometimes without permission, are used to train AI systems. This may result in cultural symbols being misused or copied without appropriate authorisation.
AI Art And Copyright Laws
Whether AI art tools that use copyrighted works during training infringe copyright laws is another area of concern. Some creators claim that it is unjust and illegal to use their work without permission, even if it is only to train a machine.
Recently, publishers Hachette Book Group and Cengage Group asked a federal court in California for permission to join a class-action lawsuit against Google. They said Google used their copyrighted content without authorisation to train its AI systems. They described this as one of the largest cases of copyright infringement ever.
There are other companies too that have pursued legal options. In 2025, the AI startup Midjourney was sued by Warner Bros., Disney and Universal for copyright infringement.
These cases show that copyright holders are increasingly challenging how and whether current legislation applies to training AI models on copyrighted content.
Who Owns AI‑Generated Art?
A key legal question surrounding AI-generated art is who, if anyone, owns it.
In 2023, a US court in Washington, D.C., ruled that an artwork created by AI without any human input cannot be copyrighted under US law. The US Copyright Office has stated that “if content is entirely generated by AI, it cannot be protected by copyright.”
As a result, such works may effectively fall into the public domain unless an individual can show sufficient creative control over the final output. Until laws are updated, ownership of AI-generated art largely depends on the level of human contribution and the terms set by AI platforms.
Ethics Vs. Economy: AI Art’s Role In The Creative Market
AI‑generated art is reshaping the creative market in ways that bring both economic opportunity and ethical concern. On one hand, AI tools can produce art quickly and cheaply, giving businesses access to affordable visuals and designs. On the other hand, many artists and industry leaders worry this flood of AI‑generated content could devalue human creativity and reduce demand for traditional artistic work, potentially affecting artists’ incomes and career prospects.
Research from Stanford Graduate School of Business shows that when AI images enter online art markets, there is a significant increase in the total amount of available content, and the number of sellers using generative AI grows sharply. At the same time, the presence of AI art can reduce sales and opportunities for creators relying solely on non‑AI work, suggesting that AI content can substitute for and compete with human‑made art in the market. While overall sales and variety may rise with more content, this shift also poses challenges for artists who must adapt to increased competition and changing buyer preferences.
Why Responsible Use Of AI In Art Matters
As AI-generated art becomes more common, clear ethical standards are needed to guide its use. Responsible adoption is key to ensuring that technology supports, rather than harms, creative practice.
Transparency is essential. When AI is used to create an artwork, this should be clearly disclosed, whether the piece is sold, exhibited, or shared online. Viewers deserve to know if a work is human-made or AI-generated, as this can shape how it is understood and valued.
Respect for original artists is equally important. AI systems are trained on existing artworks, and creators and platforms should seek permission before using such material. Fair credit and compensation matter, especially when AI-generated works closely resemble the style of living artists, raising concerns around intellectual property.
Finally, AI should complement human creativity, not replace it. When used as a collaborative tool, AI can help artists explore new ideas and forms while keeping human imagination at the centre of the creative process.
Balancing Innovation And Ethics
Navigating the ethics of AI art and copyright requires a better understanding and collaborative solutions. Lawmakers, technologists, artists and civil society must engage in open dialogue to forge policies that protect human creativity while allowing AI’s transformative potential to flourish.