08 Nov Generative AI Ethical Use Guidelines
Graphic Artist's Guild
Generative AI Ethical Use Guidelines
Mission
The purpose of the Graphic Artists Guild is to promote and protect the social, economic and professional interests of its members.
We are committed to welcoming, serving and improving conditions for graphic artists at all skill levels while raising standards for the entire industry. In addition to creative professionals, our members include educators, intellectual property lawyers, artist representatives, and others in related and supporting industries.
Objective
Create an official set of guidelines for graphic artists to reference when using generative AI in their creative work, incorporating it into their operational practice, or advocating for its ethical use while working with companies and clients. Our goal is to provide standards, support, and a guiding voice as the leader for design ethics in the industry.
Intention
We intend to empower graphic artists to confidently and ethically navigate the use of generative AI by providing clear, practical guidelines rooted in the Graphic Artists Guild’s mission to support creative professionals. These guidelines aim to protect creative integrity, promote equitable industry standards, and ensure that AI tools are used in ways that uphold accessibility, inclusion, and the long-term sustainability of creative careers.
These principles are the lens through which we view the ethical use of Generative AI, seeking to maximize its benefits for the creative industries while mitigating harm, misuse, and abuse.
Ethical Focus
Human Focus
Inclusivity Focus
Economic Empowerment + Agency Focus
Use GenAI in ways that don’t infringe upon creator’s and individual’s rights and IP.
Consider how GenAI reinforces or disrupts systems of inclusion.
Ensure that GenAI outputs do not result in individual or societal harm.
Ensure that creators receive credit compensation and consent for the use of their work.
Ethical Focus
Equity
- Only us GenAI platforms that respect creator rights (e.g., through licensing, fair terms, and opt-in mechanisms)
- Only use images or visual content you have the right to use for generative AI or are in the public domain; do not use any images you are uncertain about.
- Recognize and respect artist contributions — seek and verify consent before using an image for training or prompting.
Privacy
- Avoid using personal, sensitive, or unauthorized content in GenAI tools.
- Get consent from all contributors before submitting content for training or generation.
- Support measures to increase the transparency around datasets used by GenAI platforms.
Sustainability
- Utilize platforms that use ethically sourced training data (e.g., licensed or public domain images).
- Do not use GenAI to generate content that exploits or mimics an artist ’s style or likeness.
- Support fair practices that protect creators from the misappropriation or dilution of their work.
- Be conscious of the negative environmental impacts from GenAI.
- Be intentional about how you use GenAI: use it to supplement rather than replace your process
Transparency
- Clearly label any AI-generated or AI-assisted images or visual content.
- Inform your clients if GenAI is used in any part of your creative process.
- Credit source materials used in GenAI training and prompting.
- When registering the copyright of your works, clearly and honestly disclaim the elements which were generated by AI.Â
Inclusivity Focus
Contextual Awareness
- Be aware of how the cultural and socioeconomic perspectives of decision-makers shape GenAI use and output.
- Be mindful when working on culturally representative projects; ensure context-appropriate participation.
Bias
- Identify both intentional and systemic biases in datasets or team structures.
- Question GenAI outputs that are reflective of human-based bias and show narrow definitions of identity or experience.
Empathy
- Interrogate your own and your team’s assumptions before using GenAI for representation.
- Question whether AI-generated content erases lived experiences or voices.
Co-Creation
- Include broader perspectives and invite collaboration—especially for culturally specific content.
- Prioritize human voices and creative processes over generative tools.
Human Focus
Influence
- Be aware of whose perspectives are included in AI training, especially regarding underrepresented groups.
- Use GenAI tools that empower, not marginalize, people with disabilities or divergent needs.
Mental Health
- Avoid outputs that may trigger or manipulate emotional responses without care.
- Ensure ethical safeguards are in place to reduce harm caused by bias or misrepresentation.
Human Rights
- Creativity is fundamentally a human function. Human rights need to be protected in a GenAI environment.
- Copyright should be recognized only in human authorship.
- The impact of GenAI on the creative workforce needs to be addressed. Creative labor must be respected, protected, and fairly compensated.
Economic Empowerment + Agency Focus
Policy & Legislation
- Support legislative proposals that seek to protect creators rights, such as requiring transparency in training datasets and opt-ins of works on the part of GenAI platforms.
- Support the strengthening copyright laws and protections for creators.
- Work with legislators at all levels: local, state, and federal. Keep your members of Congress informed about your concerns with GenAI.
- Engage with the Copyright Office: provide stakeholder experience with GenAI and weigh in on relevant rulemaking on copyright registration practices.
Control
- Support the development of ethical collective licensing solutions which remunerate creators for their voluntary participation, returning to them compensation, consent, and control over the use of their works.
- Advocate for solutions that permit creators to control if and when their work is used for text and data mining.
- Follow professional best practices: register your copyrights; protect your works against scraping and prompting; read contracts for clauses that claim rights to use your work to train generative AI models.
- Get involved in collective action on behalf of creators. Join the associations doing the work, stay informed, participate in advocacy outreach. Collective action works.
Generative AI Ethical Use Guidelines
Generative AI Ethical Use Guidelines is a living document meant to change with the times, and changes in the technology and the regulation of it. Please submit any and all thoughts comments and feedback to help us improve and shape it for future updates and revisions at advocacy@graphicartistsguild.org.
Generative AI Ethical Use Guidelines
Be the your own advocate for the world and future you want to see. collective action is a proven and affected way to get results. Join the other impassioned members of the organization with a massive legacy of fighting for the rights of graphic artists and working creatives like you.