u/Jamey4

This post is a little bit on the long side, but I have a lot to say on this issue.

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is how strange the conversation around AI disclosure has become. People often say that artists should simply label their work as AI-generated, as if transparency alone will solve the conflict. But from what I’ve seen, that’s not what actually happens in practice. In many communities, labeling a piece as AI doesn’t reduce hostility at all. It simply makes it easier for people to identify, target, shame, downvote, or dogpile the creator. The disclosure stops being about informing viewers and starts functioning as a warning label for the person who posted it.

At the same time, if an artist chooses not to disclose AI usage, they’re often accused of being dishonest. I don’t agree with that. Dishonesty is claiming something happened when it didn’t. If someone says they painted an image entirely by hand when they actually used AI, that’s a lie which I would fully denounce. You should always be honest about your workflows if asked and you wish to share that info. But simply not volunteering every tool used in a creative process is not the same thing as lying.

Most artists don’t attach a production breakdown to every image they post. Photographers don’t usually disclose every Photoshop adjustment they made. Digital artists don’t list every brush pack, filter, plugin, or reference source they used. The expectation seems to appear almost exclusively when AI is involved, and I think it’s worth asking why. Though I suspect most of us here already know the real reason.

What makes the situation even stranger is that many critics simultaneously argue that AI images are obvious and easy to identify. If that’s true, then the label is completely pointless. If people can supposedly tell at a glance whether an image was made with AI, then requiring a disclosure serves no practical purpose because the information is already apparent.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve become skeptical of the constant demand for disclosure. If the goal is transparency, and people already claim they can identify AI instantly, then what exactly is the label accomplishing?

When disclosure carries a significant risk of harassment but provides very little benefit to the creator, people naturally become less willing to participate. Human beings respond to incentives. If being transparent regularly results in ridicule, accusations, and dogpiles, then it shouldn’t surprise anyone that many creators stop volunteering that information. It’s also a matter of not wanting to turn every single comment section into a battleground, and instead focus on the art piece itself.

Another problem with AI labels is that they leave no room for nuance. How much AI usage is required before something must be labeled as AI-generated? Is it only when an entire image comes from a prompt? What about Generative Fill in Photoshop? AI upscaling? AI denoising? Outpainting? Using an AI-generated texture or reference image as part of a larger project?

The label treats all of these workflows as if they are identical when they clearly are not. A piece that is 100% AI-generated and a piece that used a small AI-assisted tool during production can end up receiving the exact same label despite involving completely different creative processes. If transparency is the goal, then a simple “AI” tag often creates less understanding rather than more.

Personally, I have no interest in posting source files, workflow screenshots, prompt logs, or process breakdowns on demand. Creative work isn’t a criminal investigation, and artists aren’t obligated to submit evidence every time someone becomes suspicious. If a person is making false claims about how something was created, that’s one thing. But demanding proof from everyone by default is another.

At this point, I think the discussion should be less about forcing disclosure and more about asking why disclosure has become such a uniquely hostile experience for AI creators in the first place. If transparency is truly the goal, then transparency shouldn’t come with a target painted on your back.

I used to think properly labeling AI work promoted transparency. The more I’ve participated in online art communities, however, the more I’ve come to believe that these labels often serve a different purpose. Instead of creating understanding, they frequently remove nuance from the conversation and place a target on the creator’s back. Maybe I’m wrong in some cases, but that’s just my personal experiences talking.

Anyways, I just wanted to get that off my chest. Thank you for reading this far. Peace. ✌️😊