AI art is everywhere, and it’s a major concern for many professional artists and creatives, as well as raising concerns about authenticity and credibility. Initiatives like Instagram’s “AI info” tag don’t seem to be enough to address the issue yet. But a quiet protest movement is gaining momentum among artists and is quickly becoming a viral trend.
“Created with Human Intelligence” began as a single artist’s doodled logo design, which has since been replicated on social media by creatives across disciplines, showcasing a wide variety of artistic styles in the process.
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Just a few of the “made with human intelligence” logos and badges posted on Instagram(Image source: Various via Instagram)
(Image source: Various via Instagram)
(Image source: Various via Instagram)
(Image source: Various via Instagram)
(Image source: Various via Instagram)
If you’re an artist and use Instagram, you may have already come across the Human Intelligence movement: illustration badges bearing the phrase “made with human intelligence” began appearing on the platform about a month ago and have quickly become a cross-border and cross-genre trend.
It all started when illustrator Beth Spencer shared a logo she designed for her website to show that all the work on display was created by human artists. As part of a popular Instagram drawing challenge, she challenged other artists on the platform to draw the badge in their own style, using any non-AI technique or material.
Her chosen hashtag, #hibadge2024, is currently being used in over 1,200 posts from various countries including the US, UK, Spain, Germany, Brazil and Colombia. The logo designs range from minimalist doodles to detailed, realistic illustrations, bold hand-drawn lettering and clay sculptures.
The phenomenon of made with human intelligence feels like a timely and natural response to concerns around AI art. The phenomenon is pro-human rather than anti-technology, promoting the quality, originality, tradition, and talent contained in all forms of human-made art while also highlighting certain contradictions. “Artificial intelligence” has become almost a marketing buzzword, despite the negative connotations of the word “artificial” in most other contexts (perhaps this is why Apple uses the term “Apple Intelligence” for its forays into technology).
Initiatives like Instagram’s “Made with AI” and “AI Info” tags are necessary to flag AI-generated images, but they still need to be significantly improved. In the meantime, as AI art becomes more and more prevalent, “human-made” may become more of a mark of value and a differentiator to flaunt.
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