Introducing: HireHumanArtists.com… an easy way to find artists who have declared they do not and will not use generative AI in the creation of their artworks.
The Problem
Generative AI is a mess, for quite a litany of reasons. I’ve touched on almost all of the reasons why you might not want to take a gamble with AI generated content. Additionally, the Supreme Court decided AI content cannot be copyrighted (it lacks the human element necessary to apply for copyright). Readers are having knee-jerk reactions to AI generated book covers, resulting in the writing within being wholly rejected. AI “art” might be getting better at becoming indecipherable from human art, but the luster is fading as AI attempts to hollow out creative industries and displace creative careers.
But, say you’re a person who wants to hire an artist – a real human one – but you don’t know any artists capable of the caliber of work you want, or you don’t know who makes that kind of thing. Maybe everyone you know tells you “just use AI”, but you know that you don’t want to and it’ll cause irreparable brand damage. Where do you go to find artists? You can go to Fiverr, that’s true, and hire someone very cheap – but you so often get what you pay for there, and many people on Fiverr will not disclose they are using AI to create elements themselves. If you don’t know what to look for, you can pay and end up with AI generated works regardless.
The Solution
There must be somewhere you can locate artists who are so anti-AI that they would never use it in the creations of their works, so much so that they’re willing to stipulate as much in a commission contract. There is! I’ve put together a list of over 100 of them (and growing) on HireHumanArtists.com, an easy to remember domain with a simple spreadsheet that includes all the information you need to pick an artist who isn’t using AI to create. The directory resides not in a Bluesky starter pack or a Facebook group, but an easily accessible website, opening it to many more potential commissioners who aren’t as “online” as others may be.
The Backstory
If you know me, I’m part web dev, part artist, and part author. All of these things have not only been affected by generative AI slop, but each gives me a different insight into different parts of their applicable markets. I have seen clients turn to AI because they “didn’t know anyone”, and I have seen authors turn to AI for their book covers because they “didn’t know where to look.” For me, it’s easy to throw a stone and hit 20 artists at any given time, being how weaved into social media I am as an artist and author, but for other people who are not as online as I am… There had to be a way to get this to them. And there was. I decided to build it!
What to know
Using the directory to hire an artist is use-at-your-own-risk. I, and the vetting team, are not responsible if you hire an artist from the list and it turns out they did use LLMs, or they scam you, or they never deliver artwork. We are a very small team of under 10 people using what we know to identify AI hallmarks in visuals and cross-referencing with what we know regarding the landscape of AI and how people use it and try to pass it off to approve or reject applicants. We are, ourselves, only human, and it is possible we have missed something, or a person has adopted generative AI, or any other variation.
Because of this, it is highly recommended that any commission is protected via a contract which stipulates that the use of AI is strictly prohibited. If you don’t know where to get something like this, HireIllo has an excellent lawyer-reviewed version you can use over and over again for just $49.
This version
HireHumanArtists.com is currently “just” a spreadsheet. It is a minimum viable product to help connect non-AI artists with people who want to hire them. Our plans are as follows:
- As applications grow, we want to make sure that we can approve them in a timely fashion. This may be done by taking on more volunteers to help vet, or utilizing some sort of approval/rejection system. If you’re interested in becoming part of the vetting team, reach out to me!
- We want to ensure that the directory is being utilized not just as a place to list artists, but that people are actually being hired to create works based on being listed here. So, if you hire someone based on them being in the directory, please make sure to let me know so I can know it’s a success!
- If the directory in its current form succeeds, I will chase building it out into a fully-fledged website, allowing more visual aspects and ease-of-use for filtering (along with making it much more mobile friendly). We may utilize a simple monetization method to cover the costs of domain registration, hosting, and whatever is left goes to the efforts of the vetting staff.
Stay tuned for more updates! We are hopeful about making great connections between artists and commissioners, and for bigger and better things with this.