VirtuaReal Link's Karon Harassed Over Opinion Against AI Art
Her opinion on AI Art posted on Bilibili caught the attention of staunch AI supporters, who then harassed and doxxed her. The platform is now taking steps to protect her.
As we continue to monitor the rapid development of AI and its use in art, literature and work in general, a concerning story happened in China this week, as shared on the r/ArtistHate subreddit.
VirtuaReal Link member and independent VTuber Karon, also an artist herself, has expressed on her Bilibili space her refusal to use AI-generated content until relevant regulations are laid out worldwide.
- She clarified that she does not refuse AI herself, but rather the use of other people's work without their permission to train AI models.
- The demon researcher VTuber explains further that what's good or bad in technology is determined by the person using it. She believes that even in the future, AI paintings can only ever be tools and cannot replace the creation itself.
The artist-VTuber—who is currently studying—was defamed by some staunch AI supporters, who emailed her school asking to cancel her Ph.D studies.
- To add more insult to injury, the perpetrators deliberately created said emails using AI.
- Her previous character designs and illustrations were also fed into AI models.
- Worse, she was doxxed. She commented on her latest update that she has received more than two dozen of text messages from loan sharks.
Bilibili released a statement Thursday, March 30, saying a total of 101 comments were handled during the platform's verification, and 18 users have been banned.
- They have set up protections against harassment via private messaging for Karon, will actively communicate with her and help her to take legal action and protect her rights.
In another matter, Bilibili has identified and banned 5 users for cursing and abusing community users, even threatening to expose their identities. Violations committed leading to their ban include:
- Serious violation of other's privacy
- Spreading private information of several users
- Spreading such private information to others using direct messaging
- Disinformation and slander
- Malicious exposure and spreading of other people's addresses.