Why you should think twice before jumping on the AI ​​cartoon trend

You upload a photo of yourself, answer a few questions about your interests, and within seconds you have a personalized caricature to share on social media.

It’s not an artist’s original drawing that you stroll past on the street – it’s created by a machine after combing through your conversation history and scraping images online.

The viral artificial intelligence (AI) cartoon trend has raised privacy and ethical concerns among artists and researchers who say if something is free, you are the product.

The costs count

Last year, the creative industry celebrated the federal government’s decision to rule out changing copyright laws to give tech giants free rein to train AI models for creative works.

But for Canberra amateur artist Anne Rowlands, the rise of AI-generated “art” has meant she has lost work.

“They are harmful to the environment and…