Proposer: Ruby Saunders

Seconder: Edward Nicholas

Background:

• During Welcome Week and throughout the year the SU have a poster sale in Richmond Building working with a company called Pyramid Posters Limited. These poster sales have been going on for a while and are popular with fresher students.
• In recent times, this company has been selling increasingly more AI art and posters taken straight from the internet.
• AI art is made from a computer algorithm that takes art from artist without their consent and then puts it into its database which it uses to generate ‘art’. This is stealing.
• The use of AI also uses a lot of energy and greatly impacts the environment with its high use of water in heat exchangers, which produces greenhouse gasses and pollutes local areas.
• Since AI art is quick and cheap to produce, it actively harms artists integrity and the careers of full-time artists.
• The university has a low tolerance of AI in academic work due to its harm to academic integrity and so I believe the SU should be the same.

Purpose:

• To protect the environment
• To protect artistic integrity
• To reduce socioeconomic impacts
• To benefit every student this issue may be affecting
• To prevent the spread of AI art

Actions:

1. Make SU guidelines on AI art widely available
2. Stop working with Pyramid Posters Limited
3. Evaluate partnerships or sponsorship with companies that use Gen AI and AI art