Pillar I — Advocacy & Voice
Artists Deserve
a Seat at the Table.
The decisions being made right now about AI — in boardrooms, legislatures, and technology platforms — will determine the economic and cultural future of every working artist. UNION is the collective voice that says: not without us.
What Is At Stake
Generative AI companies trained their foundational models on billions of copyrighted works — books, visual art, music, film, poetry — without consent or compensation. The artists who created those works received nothing. In many cases, they didn't even know.
The downstream effect is already measurable: stock photo demand has dropped dramatically. Editorial illustrators and commercial writers report losing significant contract work. Voice actors, translators, and concept artists are facing displacement at scale.
This is not a technology problem. It is a power problem. And the answer to a power problem is collective power.
The AI Moment, By the Numbers
images scraped without consent to train Stable Diffusion alone
of surveyed working artists report concern about AI displacement
compensation paid to most artists whose work trained generative models
— the policy window is open. What is decided in the next 2–3 years will define the next 20
Where We Stand
Our Positions
These are UNION's founding advocacy stances. They will be refined and expanded by our founding board and member community.
AI Training & Consent
No artist's work should be used to train AI systems without explicit, informed consent and fair compensation. The use of copyrighted creative work without licensing is not a gray area — it is theft of livelihood.
Transparency in AI Generation
AI-generated content must be clearly labeled as such in all commercial, editorial, and public-facing contexts. Audiences have the right to know what is made by a human and what is not.
Economic Protection for Artists
As AI displaces creative labor, the economic burden cannot fall solely on individual artists. We advocate for industry-wide compensation frameworks, mandatory licensing pools, and policy protections that follow the money.
Cultural Value of Human Creativity
Human creativity is not a feature — it is the source. The capacity to channel authentic experience into art is a form of intelligence that no algorithm can replicate. We will not allow it to be treated as optional.
Artist Agency in the AI Era
Artists who choose to engage with AI tools should not be penalized, and artists who choose not to should not be economically disadvantaged. Agency, not mandate, is the principle.
Take Action
Sign & Share Our Positions
Public petition and position paper — add your voice and share with your network.
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Member discussion boards to shape our collective positions and coordinate action.
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