Jack Conte, co-founder and CEO of creator-monetization platform Patreon, shared a lengthy rumination on artificial intelligence and the future of creative work in a new video.
In the 43-minute video posted Tuesday, Conte argues that the future of creativity will remain human at its core, even as AI becomes ubiquitous. He says that the key issue is whether creators will receive consent, credit and compensation from AI-driven content enterprises.
“My overall take on AI right now is that I’m both amazed and furious,” Conte says. “I’m amazed at the technology… But as a creator, I’m angry that we aren’t being paid for the value that we created for these models.”
“Creators deserve consent, credit and compensation,” says Conte. “Consent meaning, ‘Do I get to opt out of my work being used by these models as training data?’ Credit meaning, ‘If my work is used and you just replicate my whole vibe as an artist… do I get credit for that?’ And then compensation, meaning, ‘Do I get paid when that happens?’ Unfortunately, the answer to all three of these questions right now is a big fat ‘No.’”
Conte notes that while some big publishers and copyright holders have struck licensing agreements with AI companies, independent creators largely lack the leverage or resources to negotiate similar deals. Right now, there’s no structural system ensuring creators participate in the upside. “If fair use is a legit argument to use creator work for free, why are AI companies paying some rightsholders millions of dollars for their work?” Conte asks in the video.
Conte was an early YouTube creator and touring musician (with Pomplamoose and Scary Pockets), who co-founded Patreon in 2013 after becoming frustrated with the challenge of earning a living on YouTube. Patreon takes a cut of creators’ paid-membership revenue, ranging from 5%-11%, plus payment-processing fees and other fees. The company says it has more than 300,000 creators on its platform who collectively have more than 10 million fans as paid monthly subscribers.
In the video, Conte emphasizes that Patreon is not anti-AI — and that the company itself uses AI tools. Patreon does not not prohibit creators from using AI tools in their workflows, as long as they follow its community guidelines. Meanwhile, Patreon is using AI internally to improve its products and operations.
But, he says, without intentional economic design, creators risk being left behind. “What matters is ensuring that there’s a societal incentive around novelty creation so that humanity can continue to progress forward,” Conte says.
As far as Patreon’s policies regarding AI, the company says it does not use creator work to train generative AI models (i.e. LLMs or image generators) that allow other people to replicate a creator’s work. In addition, it says it is “actively combating” AI-generated spam, bots, scraping and “exploitative misuse.”
“Patreon is not using creator artwork to train gen AI models like Suno or Midjourney that would allow other people to replicate your work,” Conte says in the video. “That’s not our business. It’s not what we’re here for. Just straight up not happening.”
Conte says he believes that “humans will make and consume art made by other humans for a long, long time.”
“The craft and the day to day of what it means to be an artist is going to change a lot over the next 10 years,” he says in the video, “but the big questions will remain: Do you have something to say as an artist? Are you actually connecting with people through your work?”
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