Pathway to Art

For many artists, the pathway to their craft is often a winding and unexpected journey. For Carrie Chen, her passion for art emerged from an academic background in Applied Psychology and Art History. Working in the art world introduced her to 3D and real-time rendering, which she saw as the future of experimental art-making. From there, she taught herself 3D software and pursued an MFA in Design Media Arts at UCLA. Since then, she has been actively engaged in exploring emerging technologies as mediums of expression.

Carrie’s work primarily focuses on CGI animation, game engine simulation, and multimedia installation, which she uses to explore ideas about cultural hybridity, representation, time, and memory. She draws on non-Western ontologies while also deconstructing and reconfiguring Chinese-American identity, experience, and ancestry. Through a transdisciplinary approach, she is interested in the complexities of behavior, digital bodies, and representation.

AI & Art for Good

The emergence of AI in art has been a double-edged sword for many artists. On the one hand, AI-generated art has opened up new possibilities for experimentation and creative expression. On the other hand, AI-art raises questions about authorship, authenticity, and the role of the artist in the creative process. Additionally, the AI industry has been criticized for exploiting artists and using their work without adequate compensation.

“I hope that projects like Waterlily.ai can help achieve a more equitable and sustainable model for artists to participate in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Project Waterlily and others like it have the potential to shift the power dynamic in the AI industry, putting more control in the hands of creators.” - Carrie Chen

Projects like Waterlily.ai are seeking to address these issues by empowering artists to take control of their work and to be properly compensated for their contributions. By exploring new models of remuneration and crypto-economic incentives, this project and others like it have the potential to shift the power dynamic in the AI industry, putting more control in the hands of creators, and unleashing a new wave of creativity and innovation in the art world.

As the AI industry continues to evolve, it's essential that artists are able to participate in this landscape on their own terms. Projects like Waterlily.ai are working towards this goal, and their efforts have the potential to transform the art world for the better.

AI-generated "Rainbow Unicorn in Space" from Carrie Chen's Artist Model on Waterlily.ai

Writer's Credit: Wes Floyd

For more information please follow:

• Carrie Chen on Twitter / Instagram / Linktree

• Lilypad Network

• Project Waterlily Homepage

The current state of generative AI is rapidly evolving. AI models are becoming more and more sophisticated, and they are able to create increasingly realistic and creative content. This is a great opportunity for artists, as it allows them to explore new creative possibilities. However, it also raises some important ethical concerns.

One of the biggest concerns is that the data used to train AI models is often sourced from entire portfolios of work, without giving credit or reference to the original artist. This means that creators of the data are not compensated for their work, even if their work was integral to the final result. This undermines the value of creative work and it can discourage people from creating or freely sharing new content.

Waterlily.ai is committed to addressing these concerns. We use a unique mechanism that ensures that artists are compensated for their work, even if their data is used to train AI models. By first working with the artist, we collect samples of their work for fine tuning private models. These are never opened to the public, and original artwork is only used to fine tune one unique model and then removed from the server.

The models are then presented to end users as an option to train with. Users enter a prompt, select an artist, and pay a small amount to create the work. Four new AI generated images in the style of the original artist are then returned to the user. After subtracting the computational cost to run the model, the artist or charity receives the full amount of the remaining funds.

We believe that collaborations like this are the only way to ensure that AI is used in a fair and equitable way.

Here are some of the features that make Waterlily.ai unique:

• Ethical AI art: Waterlily.ai only trains its models on permissioned works from the original artist or the public domain. This ensures that artists are compensated for their work, even if their data is used to train AI models.

• Easy to use: Waterlily.ai is designed to be easy to use for everyone, regardless of their technical expertise.

• Creative and expressive: Waterlily.ai offers a variety of tools and features that allow users to create and share AI art in their own unique style.

We hope you'll join us in our mission to make AI art more accessible and equitable for everyone.