artificial intelligence is being used to reproduce and alter First Nations artwork without artists’ permission, undermining its authenticity and cultural meaning, according to Pitjantjara artist Sally Scales.
Scales, who chairs the National Gallery of Australia’s First Nations advisory group, said AI-generated material was turning Indigenous art into what she described as “Temu slop”. She argued that reproducing the work without the artist’s connection, family lineage and lived experience amounted to a theft of cultural knowledge and agency.
Her comments come as the Australian government considers how Copyright rules should apply to artificial intelligence. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to protect Australian creatives from copyright theft, while attorney general Michelle Rowland has said there are no plans to weaken copyright protections. However, AI systems have already been trained without compensation on works by prominent Australian artists, including Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave.
Experts say the risks are especially serious for Indigenous cultural and intellectual property. AI companies can collect material available online, including paintings and songs containing sacred or culturally significant knowledge. The National Association for the Visual Arts has also reported cases in which AI altered work and removed artists’ names before the resulting material was sold.
Searches on Temu, Shein and Amazon have found numerous products described as Aboriginal paintings, along with items such as coasters and stubby holders featuring Aboriginal-style designs. Most of the products were not attributed to an individual artist.
Scales questioned whether some AI-generated designs had any connection to a First Nations community or artist. She said the absence of that connection removed the authenticity of the work and took control away from the creator.
Kathy Bowrey, an intellectual property specialist at UNSW Law, said copyright infringement was already a problem for one in five creators before the arrival of AI. The issue is more complicated for First Nations artists because of questions surrounding control, ownership and respect for Aboriginal culture.
Bowrey described a situation in which an organisation pays to use Aboriginal artwork or images of Aboriginal people, then uses AI to update or repurpose that material without permission. Artists could lose further commissions while competing with AI-generated versions based on their own work, she said.
In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into artificial intelligence, the National Association for the Visual Arts cited research by Indigenous cultural and intellectual property specialist Terri Janke. The submission said AI had scraped Indigenous art centre websites, removed artists’ names and altered their work.
The organisation also warned that AI-generated images imitating community-specific techniques, stories, motifs and mark-making could be marketed as Indigenous or Indigenous-inspired. Such material risks spreading misinformation, causing cultural and economic harm and competing with First Nations artists.
Bowrey and creative technologies expert Oliver Bown have proposed a “Copyright Plus” framework. Their recommendations include requiring AI companies to disclose the sources used to train their systems and giving creators the right to refuse the scraping or imitation of their work.
The proposal also includes a levy on AI companies to fund payments for creative professionals and a cultural fund, as well as takedown notices for fake content.
A spokesperson for the attorney general said Australian creatives were world class and that the government remained committed to supporting them. The government is consulting creators, media organisations and AI companies on options intended to provide meaningful control and fair compensation if copyright rules are changed.
Sources: The Guardian Technology.