Abstract:
Etsy, an American handicraft e-commerce platform, said on Thursday local time that it will no longer allow merchants to sell recipes and handmade patterns generated by artificial intelligence (AI) on its platform. The move is part of a broader move by the company to regulate the use of artificial intelligence on its platform.
Etsy said in a blog post that it will ban the sale of "functional guides" generated by artificial intelligence, including various production patterns, cooking recipes and operating instructions. Such products are often sold as digital downloads, such as crochet or sewing patterns. The company points out that after purchasing, users still need to "invest in the final product."
Etsy said sellers will also need to show physical objects made according to the instructions — rather than AI-generated or simulated results — “so buyers can understand what to expect.”
In a separate notice to sellers, Etsy mentioned that it was making these changes because artificial intelligence is threatening the trust buyers and sellers have in the platform.
“Today, many active buyers say they can’t tell which items contain AI-generated content,” the company wrote. “This has become one of the top three barriers preventing them from shopping more frequently on Etsy. And you, our community of sellers, have told us that you are concerned that your work will appear alongside items that use AI in misleading ways; at the same time, it is increasingly difficult for buyers to recognize the role you played in creating these items.”
As part of this adjustment, Etsy said it will prohibit sellers from automatically generating product listing information through bots without any human participation. In addition, sellers must provide at least one untouched photo of the actual item being sold.
Etsy informed sellers that the platform still allows the sale of artificial intelligence-generated art, provided that the merchant "plays a clear role in the creation process and is transparent about the creative process."
The company added: "Sellers must still disclose when an item is created by AI; they may not misrepresent AI-generated content as handmade or claim to have created it entirely themselves."
Misleading products or images generated by artificial intelligence create new challenges for Etsy and other online marketplaces. In recent years, Etsy has been working to curb the proliferation of AI-made crochet patterns and other AI “drash.” Amazon recently required sellers to label photos or videos containing AI-generated characters in response to recent legislation mandating disclosure.
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