EXCLUSIVE Aussie photographer Charles Brooks slams Elon Musk over billionaire's wild AI claim
An Aussie artist has lashed out after Elon Musk reshared artificially modified versions of his photos to 'promote' his chatbot.
Accomplished artist and musician Charles Brooks achieved international recognition in 2022 for his 'Architecture in Music' photographic series, capturing the interiors of musical instruments.
This week, he was shocked to learn from a friend that his work had been altered by a third party using artificial intelligence (AI) and shared by Musk on X – formerly known as Twitter.
Above his photos, edited to include little men inside his instruments, was Musk's invitation for users to 'Generate images with Grok'.
Mr Brooks insisted '98 per cent' of the images were actually generated by him.
'I went and did some digging, and eventually I found this thing he'd shared from a couple of days ago,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
Mr Brooks conceded that Musk was not 'quite' passing his photos off as Grok's work, but believes he was operating in a 'grey area'.
'The thing that annoys me is that my photos are being kind of used, and my name's not being attached to them,' he said.
Musk reshared three of Mr Brook's images which had been altered with AI, imploring X users to generate images with Grok
'And the way that they're being presented makes it look like they're AI photos.'
AI software can now produce essays, creative fictions, photos, videos and audio to boot. But the models have been 'trained' repetitively at first using real images, artworks, videos and soundbites.
The ethics of AI training and artistic intellectual property have been debated since the engines were first unveiled to the public.
Mr Brooks insists there was no mistaking the images were his.
'For me, the main thing is, these are real photographs of very specific instruments,' he explained.
'You know, there's a double bass in there that's photographed. And I know exactly what bass that is. That's a English Charles Therese Double Bass from 1860 that my friend plays in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Beautiful bass.
'That's my photo of inside that specific instrument. And that should never be claimed as AI.'
Mr Brooks insisted he's not anti-AI and uses it for an array of tasks including managing his website and correcting writing.
He hopes the saga serves as a warning to artists – as the creative industries are forced to coexist with what could represent a disrupting force.
'If there's anything that I would wish out of this it would be that, you know, there's a way for works or images to always be tracked back to the artist when they're shared,' he said.
'AI is going to see this stuff, it's going to learn. So are people, for that matter, other people can look at my work and maybe figure out how I've done it and do something similar. Great, good on them.
'But my creations should be able to be tracked back to me easily and it's frustrating that it's so simple for people to lift them and share them, and you lose that chain back to the original artist.'
Mr Brooks was astonished about how little people seemed to care to credit real-world artists, whose time and effort became the foundation of every subsequent AI creation.
'I think with all of this new technology, if we can trace every bitcoin transaction on Earth, we should be able to trace a photo,' he said.
Many online were left shocked after Mr Brooks detailed the incident online.
'Elon didn't mention my name at all, Eric did put my name in but only as a comment which I find a bit disingenuous,' Mr Brooks claimed in a video posted on Reddit.
'I'm not terribly against people modifying the images as long as it's not for a commercial reason, but if you're going to do that, please credit me.'
The artist took his grievances to the platform after his X account was suspended. His account has since been reinstated.
Commenters unleashed against the technology billionaire.
'So sorry you have to do go through this crap with him. I've completely stopped using twitter, will never call it X,' one wrote.
Another added: 'I'm sorry Elon Musk is such a piece of sh*t. Your photography is really beautiful,' another added.
A third wrote: 'This is a salesman posting fake results about his product. So what does that say of the product?' another said.
Many viewers wondered if Mr Brooks had a legal case against Musk.
'I don't think (Mr Brooks) has a case against the 'original' Twitter poster, but (Musk) is using stolen art to advertise a tool that directly benefits him. Not a lawyer but that looks like a slam-dunk of a case,' one alleged.
Others, however, did not believe Mr Brooks' case was strong enough.
Mr Brooks told Daily Mail Australia it was unlikely he would pursue that avenue.
Musk's Grok engine has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks as allegations of censorship plagued the platform.
Grok is a conversational AI developed by xAI, founded by Musk. The engine can access contemporary information over the web and on its native platform, X.
Its use has been predicated on its ability to answer questions typically avoided by other platforms, and can be accessed at varying degrees of utility through free and paid accounts.
However, in recent weeks the chatbot suffered a 'programming error' which made it sceptical of Holocaust figures and repeatedly made claims about a 'white genocide' in South Africa.
In May, researchers revealed AI models had begun disobeying human instruction.
ChatGPT's latest AI model refused to switch itself off, they claimed.
Experts said they gave the AI system a clear command but the o3 model, developed by OpenAI and described as the 'smartest and most capable to date', tampered with its computer code to avoid an automatic shutdown.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Andrew O'Keefe cuts a colourful figure as he steps out for a cigarette in Bondi...after the disgraced former Seven star was ordered to enter rehab
Disgraced former Channel Seven star Andrew O'Keefe cut a very eye-catching figure in Sydney this week. The former Deal or No Deal host, 53, was spotted out and about in Bondi on Friday. Not wanting to hide his sartorial light under a bushel, O'Keefe put on a very colourful display in a multicoloured animal print jacket. He matched the quirky garment with a pair of bone-coloured chinos as well as a pair of sky blue sneakers that he wore over ruby red socks. Keeping the theme going, O'Keefe finished his ensemble with a pair of lime green-framed sunglasses. He accessorised with a beige crossbody bag. As he perched outside a unit block on the suburban street to smoke a cigarette, Andrew appeared completely engrossed in his phone. O'Keefe has waged a public battle against drug addiction and been in and out of rehabilitation centres for the past few years. He faced Waverley Local Court in February to plead guilty to driving with meth in his system but escaped with a $440 fine and a disqualification from driving for six months. The former Deal or No Deal host tested positive to meth while driving his Mercedes C200 in Sydney's eastern suburbs on July 28 last year. O'Keefe appeared relaxed and refreshed after three months overseas in rehab and chatted happily with lawyers and police while waiting to have his matter heard. His solicitor Jahan Kalantar told the court his client accepted he had a poor traffic record and had spent a substantial period of time struggling with his illicit drug abuse. Mr Kalantar said O'Keefe had taken serious steps to address his drug problems and produced evidence he had spent three months as an in-patient at a rehab facility. The disgraced ex-TV star pleaded guilty in October to trespassing, breaching an an apprehended violence order and meth possession. Shortly before O'Keefe was pulled over on July 28, he had confronted a man at a Point Piper property he was banned from attending. He faced Waverley Local Court in February to plead guilty to driving with meth in his system but escaped with a $440 fine and a disqualification from driving for six months Magistrate Michael Barko read a letter of apology O'Keefe wrote to the court, which he accepted as being 'sincere and genuine'. 'I can assure you the next step is jail. I'm not just saying that, I absolutely mean it,' he told the disgraced Seven star. O'Keefe was released on bail after appearing in Waverley Local Court but was arrested again at Rose Bay police station in September when police found meth in his car during a search. Two days earlier, O'Keefe had overdosed on heroin at a party and needed to be revived by paramedics. Elisha Dalah, 38, performed CPR to save O'Keefe after supplying him with the heroin that led to the overdose at his Vaucluse home in Sydney's eastern suburbs on September 14 last year. Dalah's millionaire father, Michael, who is a former co-owner of Elizabeth Bay Marina, has spoken out after harrowing details of the incident emerged. The Sydney socialite cleaned vomit from the disgraced TV star's nose and mouth, and gave him Narcan, a drug which counteracts the effects of heroin before O'Keefe was taken to St Vincent's Hospital. Magistrate Milledge previously told O'Keefe that his life had 'just completely gone off the rails' and it was his responsibility to fix it Dalah pleaded guilty to supplying heroin and was ordered to undertake a rehabilitation program. Meanwhile, O'Keefe was fined $1,500 and handed a 30-month community corrections order which required him to attend rehab. Magistrate Milledge said his life had 'just completely gone off the rails' and it was his responsibility to fix it. 'I know domestic violence is a factor in your offending and that is awful, truly awful,' she said. 'You got into the grip of something awful and the wheels fell off.' He was found guilty in January last year of domestic violence and drug offences after a 'degrading' attack on a woman who cannot be identified. The drug conviction was later quashed but O'Keefe lost an appeal against the assault convictions in August. He has an annual income of more than $300,000 despite not having appeared on television for more than four years. The former presenter of The Chase Australia and Weekend Sunrise is paid $26,000 a month 'through insurance', according to court documents obtained by Daily Mail Australia. O'Keefe spends about $17,000 of that sum on tax and supporting his two youngest children, leaving him with approximately $9,000 a month or $2,250 a week. It is not known what the insurance payments are for but they equate to $312,000 - or $108,000 once deductions are made - a year. O'Keefe's income, which is still dwarfed by the millions of dollars he made from television, was outlined in a statement of facts tendered in Sydney's Waverley Local Court on Friday. His contract with the Seven Network was not renewed at the end of 2020 amid concerns over his erratic behaviour and domestic violence charges. 'Seven is obviously very concerned to read the reports regarding Andrew O'Keefe,' a spokesman said in February 2021. 'Seven has had a 17-year relationship with Andrew across a number of programs, although he is no longer with the network.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Elon Musk backs down in Trump battle as Tesla stocks nosedive and MAGA threatens to kick him out the country
What could happen next in the Trump - Musk feud? Following the bitter break up between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, many are waiting in anticipation at what the two titans could do next. The world's richest man and the leader of the free world appear set to continue launching attacks at each other, and have already threatened to destroy each other's empires. For Musk, he has almost $400 billion to wield against the president, and could turn the fortune he used to get Trump elected toward his political opponents. Musk has already mounted an aggressive campaign to 'kill' Trump's Big Beautiful Bill in Congress, which holds the key to delivering much of Trump's domestic agenda. The businessman also owns arguably the world's most potent social media platform, X, which he used on Thursday to call for the end of America's two-party system. But while Musk has an array of weapons to turn on Trump, the president's power in the White House offers him several avenues to fight back. Trump threatened to slash Musk's government contracts on Thursday, which totalled over $3 billion last year. The White House's power to launch investigations and turn public opinion against Musk also holds significant potential, with Trump allies including Steve Bannon urging him to go as far as deporting Musk and revoking his security clearances. Trump also has options including turning his Justice Department on Musk's businesses, with Musk already having lost $27 billion of his net worth since he turned on Trump.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Father Ted and trans rights critic Graham Linehan pleads not guilty to harassing and smashing phone belonging to a transgender woman
Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has pleaded not guilty to harassing a transgender woman and damaging her phone. The Irish comedy writer, 56, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court today to deny the charges of harassing Sophia Brooks on social media and damaging her mobile in October. The Bafta-winning writer, who also came up with TV sitcoms The IT Crowd and Black Books, has become a vocal critic of the trans rights movement in recent years. Linehan, who created Father Ted in the 1990s with fellow Irish writer Arthur Mathews, said in a post on X in April that the allegations were related to an incident at the Battle of Ideas conference in London on October 19. Court documents show Linehan is charged with harassing the alleged victim by posting abusive comments about her on social media between October 11 and October 27, and damaging her phone to the value of £369 on the day of the conference. The 56-year-old, who once dubbed himself 'the most hated man on the internet', told how jobs 'fell away' when he became embroiled in the transgender debate. He was banned in 2020 from Twitter after writing 'Men aren't women tho' before later being reinstated by X founder Elon Musk. A long-awaited Father Ted musical was then axed in 2022 because of the 56-year-old's controversial political opinions. When two venues cancelled his 2023 Edinburgh Fringe shows, the now-divorced Linehan opted to perform his set outside the Scottish Parliament. The 56-year-old sat in seats in front of the dock wearing glasses, a white shirt, grey suit jacket and grey jeans, and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and to deny the charges. Some supporters of the defendant were turned away from the court because of a shortage of seats. Deputy District Judge Louise Balmain told Linehan his trial would take place on September 4 this year at the same court. He was freed on bail with the condition not to contact the complainant directly or indirectly. It comes as Linehan last month praised the Supreme Court's decision to confirm that the word woman is based on biological sex, meaning trans women are legally not women. Linehan said trans women should be excluded from women's spaces as they were not women - a view that has now been backed up by the Supreme Court. But although he hailed the Supreme Court decision, he said the war on woke has only just begun. Speaking to MailOnline, Linehan described the moment he realised the judge had ruled in favour of biology - and revealed his hopes for his own comedy comeback. He said: 'I was in the courtroom. The judge said we had to respect the court and not have any reaction. 'When we heard it, you could feel the crackle go around the room. 'The moment the judge left, it just sunk in that we won after 10 years of fighting this nonsense. It's good news but this is only one issue in a lot of woke issues. 'The big problem we have is with TV commissioners. The artists are still out there but they have to get past these people who don't really care about art. They care about imposing their beliefs on people. 'If you look back at the 90s with Britpop, British art was famous round all over the world and there was a real sense of excitement. 'But over the last 10 years there's been a dearth of notable stuff. Because these people have tied their hands and feet together. 'It's all very safe - almost trying not to get noticed. 'If you can't say that reality is real, then you can't do jokes about reality. 'That's what all artists do. If you deny the truth of the exterior world, they can't do that. 'But I don't think we will forever be able to stop funny people being funny. People will get sick of it. 'There's going to be a fightback [against wokeness]. Young people are sick of the rules. I think it will naturally fade away and we will come back to freedom of speech.'
