THE USE of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Shetland craft scene “needs to be addressed”, the secretary of Shetland Arts and Craft Association (SACA) has said.
The weekend’s annual craft fair at the Clickimin – a well-attended celebration of the quality and depth of crafting in the isles – has been overshadowed somewhat by online complaints about the rising use of AI in stalls and promotional materials this year.
SACA itself has come in for criticism, for allegedly using generative AI to create a poster that was used by visitors to vote for their favourite stall.
A letter sent to Shetland News on Sunday said it was a “source of vicarious embarrassment” to see what they said were some AI-generated products being sold at the craft fair.
The letter writer also urged SACA to ban the use of AI at all future craft fairs in Shetland. There were also posts about about AI use at the fair on Facebook.
The use of generative AI, particularly in the arts, has become a contentious subject, with many writers, artists and musicians strongly opposed to its use.
Platforms such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Claude have grown in popularity in recent years, but they have been heavily criticised by some in the artistic fields for mimicking or replicating the work of other artists.
SACA secretary Linda Richardson, writing on the Facebook page for her own artwork, said lovely comments at the weekend had been “outweighed by the negative feedback” about the use of AI.
“Yes, this issue does need to be addressed,” she said.
“Our members do need to think about this and what they want our association to be.”
It comes after SACA issued a statement, also through Richardson, on Thursday afternoon about the weekend’s annual craft fair.
The association said that as a whole it would need to discuss the use of AI and “work out the best way forward”.
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As a result, it said its Up Helly Aa craft fair at Mareel in January was “under review”.
“The issue of AI has only become an issue over the last couple of years,” the association said.
“The Shetland Arts and Crafts association is run by unpaid volunteers. To make personal comments about individual members is neither helpful or constructive.
“We appreciate folk have strong views on this matter and we will be contacting our existing membership.”
Shetland Arts drew criticism earlier this year after Shetland News revealed it had put an AI policy in place, saying its staff could use AI in creative content if explicitly approved beforehand.
He added that was “precisely why Shetland Arts has put a policy in place” for the use of AI.
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