The Human-Made Project

Human-Made

–––––––

There’s a growing backlash towards AI-generative content. AI slop is taking over social media, it’s being used for political propaganda, and it’s even starting to spill over into the real world.

Consumers prefer human-made content, and marketers know this, but it can be hard for folks to quickly identify when a piece of art was made by a real person or by AI.

This is why we need the Human-Made Project, an easy way to quickly certify work that was created without the use of AI.

Goals

The Human-Made Project should

  • Indicate work is human-made (no generative AI)
  • Be easy to use and unobtrusive
  • Be self-enforcing

In other words, the HMP should be an easy way for viewers to know they aren’t looking at AI content, without taking away from the content or requiring too much effort. Most importantly, the HMP should be decentralized and self-enforcing, meaning any artist can add it to their work and that the crowd is best suited to call out bad actors.

Big tech often likes to solve these types of problems with more tech (i.e. blockchain or “AI detection”) but these tools add far more complexity without solving the core problem. For the sake of speed and privacy, there’s no user sign up, no app to download. Sometimes a simple solution is the best solution.

The Human-Made Project

The Human-Made Project is a simple line of text and a small badge that can be added to any content.

“Human-Made art by ________”

I used “art” in the example above, because the Human-Made Project is currently geared towards posters, digital images, and things like that, but with slight changes to the text, the HMP could be used for anything. For example, publishers could add “Human-Made book by ______” or “Human-Made cover design by ___” on the inside jacket of the book. Easy for consumers to find.

When consumers learn to look for it, the HMP badge will be doing most of the lifting here. We are pretty used to looking for similar types of symbols when looking for materials that are recyclable, or food that is gluten-free.

The Human-Made Badge

Here is the Human-Made badge. This badge may be used by anyone who created their work without the use of generative A.I.

Examples:

Below are some examples of the Human-Made badge in action.

A flier for the San Francisco Yo-Yo Club. It shows a drawing of a pirate playing with a yo-yo. He has a hook at the end of his right arm. The SF Yo-Yo Club will be at 826 Valencia on Saturday September 13th from 2pm to 5pm. Text at the bottom of the poster says "Human-Made Poster by @DocPop" and has the Human-Made mark next to it.
Flier for The Cartoonist Conspiracy of San Francisco that shows a robot sitting at a table with a cup of coffee and some jam, while the robot draws on a sheet of paper. The robot is thinking "Everybody hates my art". The info on the poster says these CCSF meetups happen on the second tuesday of each month from 7-9pm at Finjan Qahwa coffee shop in San Francisco. Text at the bottom of the page says "Human-made art by @urfspace, @ekimtiki, @DocPop, and @HappyFreakShow". On the lower corner of the poster there's a heart shaped watermark that says "No A.I."

How it works

Let’s be honest, politicians are not about to push for any regulation that could hurt their corporate sponsors, and AI users are not incentivized to disclose when the content they are making is AI generated. In fact, many users of AI go out of their way to disguise its usage. 

The HMP focuses on the creatives, brands, and consumers, because they are the ones who will benefit the most from its usage: 

  • Artists benefit by adding the HMP to their work because it helps promote their brand (by clearly listing their name or a link to their social media handle) and it shows they created their work without the use of AI. 
  • Brands benefit when using the HMP because it shows that they took the time and money to hire an artist/designer, rather than relying on generative AI. Having an HMP badge on a brand’s marketing is a flex, and should encourage brands to want to seek out artists to work with.
  • Consumers benefit by the HMP because it clearly identifies when the work they are looking at was created by humans. After all, if a show promoter doesn’t care enough to hire artists for their posters, what are the chances that they’ll cut other corners for the event itself?

A big benefit of the HMP is that it is self-governing. As long as they are observing the rules of the license, artists are free to add the HMP badge wherever they like. If someone adds the “No A.I.” badge without following the HMP rules, then consumers can call them out. Naming and shaming bad actors is the best way to keep this system running smoothly. Any brand or “artist” caught using this badge incorrectly risks ruining their reputations… this means that brands will also want to check the artist’s credibility (by asking for proof of creation) before they use the artwork in their marketing.

Similar Projects

  • Humans Commons- A Creative Commons style project that forbids work from being used for AI training.
  • Not By AI- A badge system for marking work as human-made. Similar in spirit to the HMP, but more centralized, requiring a review process and a processing fee.
  • Brainmade- A similar project that attempts to quickly affirm that a piece of art was made without the use of AI.
  • AI Signal- Another logo concept to clearly mark content as made without the use of AI.

Wrapping Up

Up until now, creatives have relied on AI poisoning tools like Glaze or Nightshade to prevent their work from being used in generative AI databases. In a world filled with AI slop, the Human-Made Project is a proactive tool that helps creators, brands, and consumers. 

Thank Yous

This project draws heavily from the spirit of Creative Commons. I’ve long been a supporter of CC and have licensed many of my own works with it over the years.

I also want to give a big shout-out to Robin Sloan. His zine “This Is How E-books Should Work” played a major role in shaping this project. Robin’s blend of tech, creativity, and whimsy has inspired me for years, and his work is absolutely worth your time.