AI & SOCIETY

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-023-01780-4

MAIN PAPER

Image synthesis from an ethical perspective

Oliver Bendel1

Received: 18 April 2023 / Accepted: 8 September 2023

© The Author(s) 2023

Abstract
Generative AI has gained a lot of attention in society, business, and science. This trend has increased since 2018, and the big
breakthrough came in 2022. In particular, AI-based text and image generators are now widely used. This raises a variety of
ethical issues. The present paper first gives an introduction to generative AI and then to applied ethics in this context. Three
specific image generators are presented: DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney. The author goes into technical details
and basic principles, and compares their similarities and differences. This is followed by an ethical discussion. The paper
addresses not only risks, but opportunities for generative AI. A summary with an outlook rounds off the article.

Keywords Image synthesis · Image generators · Artificial intelligence · Machine learning · Deep learning · Information
ethics · Machine ethics

1 Introduction have to measure themselves against this digital, artificial

beauty? Are new ideals of beauty emerging? Or do image
Generative AI (the term stands for “generative artificial generators support laymen and experts and allow them new
intelligence”) has attracted a lot of attention in society, possibilities? Do they replace experts and support the IT and
business, and science. This trend has increased since 2018, AI corporations? These are the kinds of questions that will
and the big breakthrough came in 2022. In particular, AI- be asked here and answered to some extent.
powered text and image generators are now widely used. A So far, there is hardly any scientific literature on this
variety of ethical issues arise from this. Image synthesis is highly relevant topic. From the perspective of ethics, gen-
the process associated with image generators. Image genera- erative AI is primarily viewed in terms of text generators.
tors based on generative AI are further referred to as text- As an area of application, the focus here is on science (such
to-image synthesis or text-to-image generation (Kang et al. as medicine) or business (Zohny et al. 2023; Hoi 2023).
2023). The term “image synthesis” is reminiscent of voice Instead, moral questions about image generators are mainly
synthesis, which also raised quite a few ethical questions raised in the media. For example, a discussion flared up
(Bendel 2017). “Image synthesis” and “image generation” about photorealistic images of young, pretty, barely clothed
are often used synonymously. However, the first term can women. It was asked whether this was associated with sexist
also be understood more comprehensively. This paper is ideas or whether—from a completely different perspective—
exclusively about AI-based image synthesis. the modelling industry, and its exploitation would become
The ethical issues are related, for example, to the origin obsolete (Lobe 2023).
of the data, the input of the data and information, and the This paper first gives an introduction to generative AI,
nature of the texts and images. But there are also quite dif- and then to applied ethics in this context. The author then
ferent questions raised by image synthesis. Is a new form of discusses three image generators: DALL-E 2, Stable Diffu-
digital, artificial beauty emerging? Do people under pressure sion, and Midjourney. He elaborates technical details and
basic principles, and compares their similarities and differ-
ences. This is followed by a structured, detailed ethical dis-
* Oliver Bendel cussion. Not only risks but opportunities are discussed. Each
[email protected] topic is placed in the context of applied ethics. A summary
1
School of Business, University of Applied Sciences
with an outlook rounds off the article.
and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Bahnhofstrasse 6,
5210 Windisch, Switzerland

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 AI & SOCIETY

2 Generative AI DALL-E (released January 2021) and its succes-

sor DALL-E 2 (released April 2022) are image genera-
Generative AI (“AI” stands for “artificial intelligence”) is tors from OpenAI that can create images from text-based
a collective term for AI-based systems that can be used to prompts (https://​openai.​com/​produ​ct/​dall-e-2). The current
produce all kinds of results in an apparently professional program—its name evokes the famous surrealist Spanish
and creative manner, such as images, video, audio, text, painter, Salvador Dalí—is based on Generative Pre-trained
code, 3D models, and simulations (Bendel 2023b). The Transformer 3 (GPT-3), also developed by OpenAI, a lan-
basis is text- or image-based input from users—so-called guage model that can compose texts of all types, multiple-
prompts. Human skills can be matched or even surpassed. choice questions, etc. DALL-E was developed in conjunc-
Generative AI can support pupils, students, teachers, office tion with CLIP (Contrastive Language-Image Pre-training).
workers, politicians, artists, and scientists, and be part of It creates series of four images arranged side by side and can
more complex systems. be downloaded. Photo-realistic and cartoon-like representa-
Generative AI uses machine learning, especially deep tions are possible, among others. Simple forms of image
learning, drawing on different data sources and training editing are also offered. The program is very simple to use.
methods (Bendel 2023b). Reinforcement Learning from Stable Diffusion, released in August 2022, is another
Human Feedback (RLHF) can be used to incorporate clas- image generator that can create images from text-based
sification and evaluation by workers. Their feedback is used prompts (https:// ​ s tabl ​ e diff ​ u sion​ web. ​ c om). Inpainting
to train a reward system, which, in turn, to take one example, (destroyed or lost parts of a picture should be reconstructed),
can train a chatbot. The 2020s saw a veritable explosion of outpainting (content outside the original image area should
applications. The fact that many tools could be tested by be added), and generating image-to-image translations based
the general public fueled the hype around generative AI. on a text prompt are also possible. Stable Diffusion uses a
A broad, public, media, and scientific discussion flared up. latent diffusion model, which is a variant of a deep genera-
ChatGPT can generate texts of all kinds based on text- tive neural network. Photorealistic and other representations
and image-based prompts, study papers, technical articles, are provided. There is a separate field for negative prompts,
advertising texts, poems, or recipes, and become not only a strengthening this feature. By default, square tiles with four
content generator but also a chatbot (Bendel 2023b). This images are produced, each of which can be enlarged and
can be connected to a text-to-speech system and integrated modified. The user can share the images with the Hugging
into a social robot, which thus acquires far-reaching natu- Face community. The program is very simple to use.
ral language capabilities, or into search engines, as Micro- Midjourney is an image generator available since July
soft and Google have done (Lardinois 2023). Image gen- 2022, which can also create images from text-based prompts
erators such as DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney (https://​www.​midjo​urney.​com). Version 5.2 was released in
produce visual content. Music generators like AI Music June 2023. The program was created by the research insti-
Generator create sequences of sounds that can be used in tute of the same name, which was founded by David Holz.
music pads, and entire songs. Other systems can develop What makes Midjourney special is that it is embedded in an
new drugs or new biological and chemical weapons. online community, and each time you call it, you choose a
Discord bot to interact with. The output is square tiles with
four images, each of which can be enlarged and changed.
One can see the results of the other community members
3 AI‑based image generators and can also use them, e.g., download or modify them. The
quality of the results is exceptionally high. The program is
There are many AI-based image generators available that very difficult to use and, as conversations have revealed, dis-
cannot all be covered here, especially since new prod- courages some interested parties from using it.
ucts or new versions are constantly emerging. Instead, we Most image generators had problems with the correct rep-
will focus on three well-known, popular, and powerful resentation of hands, feet, ears, and eyes. For example, fin-
generative AI tools: DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion, and Mid- gers were placed in the wrong place or limbs were mutilated,
journey (Borji 2022). They are available for or executable or pupils were of different sizes. However, clear progress can
on laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Apps such as Lensa, be seen here, for example, with Midjourney from version 5
which convert selfies into avatars, are not discussed. Clas- onwards. As own tests of the author have shown, the prompts
sic image editing programs are also excluded, although are interpreted quite differently and with varying accuracy.
they can play a role in post-processing the results. In addi- Some specifications are ignored or incorrectly implemented.
tion, image generators can be integrated into image editing Thus, required elements are omitted again and again, certain
programs (as well as image platforms). representations and perspectives are denied. According to
the author’s experience, this is especially true for DALL-E

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AI & SOCIETY

and Stable Diffusion. The quality is also quite different for implications of economic processes and systems as well as
one and the same tool. Particularly with DALL-E, extreme of globalization and monopolization are of interest (“eco-
fluctuations result from this. nomic ethics” as a comprehensive term). In the information
society, business ethics is closely intertwined with informa-
tion ethics.
4 Areas of applied ethics The subject matter of machine ethics is the morality of
machines, mostly that of partially autonomous and auton-
Ethics is a subdiscipline of philosophy and originated two omous systems such as chatbots, voice assistants, certain
and a half millennia ago, initially mainly based on the works robots, certain drones, and self-driving cars (Wallach and
of Aristotle (Bendel 2019b). The object of ethics is moral- Allen 2009; Anderson and Anderson 2011; Bendel 2012a,
ity. It examines, justifies, and questions what is considered 2019a). The term of morality is discussed quite controver-
good and evil, or just and unjust. In doing so, it focuses sially in this context. However, it can be noted that autono-
primarily on acting rather than thinking. Applied ethics mous systems will increasingly have to make decisions of
relates to delineated topical fields and forms certain fields moral relevance as they become more prevalent in society.
or specialties of ethics. In the present context, information This moral decision making can be explicitly reasoned, for
ethics, technology ethics, media ethics, business ethics, and instance, in annotated decision trees. This is nothing other
machine ethics are particularly relevant. than artificial morality.
Morality (of and in) the information society is the object
of information ethics (Bendel 2019b). It researches how we
behave, or should behave, in moral terms when offering or 5 An ethical discussion of image synthesis
using information and communication technologies (ICT),
information systems, digital media, AI systems, and robots. In the following section, ethical questions that arise in con-
It is central to computer, net, and new media ethics, and all nection with image synthesis are discussed. This involves a
of them have to deal with it, considering that all fields of systematization of considerations in the literature as well as
applications are dependent upon ICT and other computer- the author’s own considerations, whereby earlier work—for
related technologies. AI ethics can be seen as part of infor- example from machine ethics—is continued (Bendel 2019a).
mation ethics or as an independent field. Furthermore, the author’s tests and observations in the com-
Technology ethics refers to moral questions of the appli- munities form a basis, although these can hardly be repre-
cation of technique and technology (Bendel 2019b). It can sentative, and the AI systems are characterized precisely by
deal with automotive technology or arms technology as well the fact that they generate different outputs each time. The
as nanotechnology or nuclear technology. In the information topic areas were developed through literature review and a
society, where more and more products contain computer transfer of typical problem areas in applied ethics.
technologies, technology ethics is particularly closely linked The focus is on an ethical, not a legal discussion, although
to information ethics, and partly merges with it. According legality does play a part. The specialized areas of applied
to another definition, information ethics is a part of tech- ethics involved are technology ethics, information eth-
nology ethics. However, its subject area is now very large, ics (including AI ethics), media ethics, and business eth-
so there is much to be said for it as an independent ethical ics. In addition, within applied ethics, machine ethics is of
discipline. importance, especially with regard to the meta-rules and the
The object of media ethics is the morality of media and restrictions of image generators. Art ethics could add an
in media (Bendel 2019b). Both the methods of mass media interesting element to this discussion; however, it has so far
and social media, and the behaviors of the users of social and hardly been established within the context of applied ethics
digital media, are relevant here. Their role as prosumers (i.e., (Fenner 2013). Nevertheless, it is mentioned briefly.
producers and consumers) is also of interest. Automatisms The author lists the risks of using image generators as
and manipulations by AI-based technologies and systems well as the opportunities. The discipline of ethics is not only
move into the focus, linking it closely to information ethics. there to describe and justify a limitation of action, but also
There are also close ties to business ethics, especially as the an unfolding of the person and the personality. This is the
media landscape is in transition and economic pressures are case, for example, when talking about a good life. This can
strong. include a facilitation of work as well as enjoying the beauty
Business ethics is concerned with morality in the econ- of images. The order of the topics is more or less random.
omy (Bendel 2019b). The focus is on the individual who However, there are groupings, such as those relating to the
produces, acts, leads, and executes as well as consumes, facilitation of work and the substitution of work, which are
and the company that bears responsibility towards employ- dealt with in succession. A list of this kind can never be
ees, customers, and the environment. In addition, the moral complete. Thus, topics such as identity theft, erosion of trust

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 AI & SOCIETY

in photography and design, or human lack of independence programs such as Adobe Photoshop. However, the modifica-
are omitted. tions must be far-reaching enough for human participation to
be sufficient—in other words, something independent must
5.1 Copyright infringement and third‑party use emerge from editing. Curation of AI works can also enjoy
copyright protection if the work thus created as a whole can
With Midjourney (up to version 4) and other image genera- be considered a creative work in its own right (Grüner 2023).
tors, it was repeatedly noticed that images bore watermarks This includes the collection, arrangement, and discussion of
and fonts (Borji 2022). This indicates that image platforms texts and images.
with protected and paid content are exploited, and images Information ethics and media ethics are devoted to the
are illegally copied and used. In principle, considerable protection and autonomy or non-autonomy of works. Busi-
amounts of data are probably read where copyrights and ness ethics examines the opportunities and abuses that arise
reproduction rights exist. By no means is all content on the from the use of image generators. In addition, legal ethics
Internet free—different licenses are issued, such as Creative is in play, especially as it involves boundary issues in law.
Commons licenses, and much material is protected inher-
ently by the mere act of creating a distinctive work. 5.3 Privacy and informational autonomy
The use of protected material by generative AI can be in prompts
problematic from a legal, and an ethical point of view (Smits
and Borghuis 2022). For example, an author’s creations are In generative AI, and in image generators, a prompt is an
used without the author (or the platform) being remunerated input from the user from which the system generates an
or compensated. In addition, one has no influence on the output (Bendel 2023a). A text-based prompt can contain
results of one’s own works. It is possible that they violate words, letters, special characters, numbers, and URLs. To
one’s own ideas and values, or that they fail to meet one’s get the desired result, the prompt must be as unambiguous
own tastes. When it comes to protected material of compa- and comprehensive as possible. If dialogs are provided, as in
nies and organizations, they act against their interests. In text generators such as ChatGPT and image generators such
addition, they also have no influence on the results of the as Visual ChatGPT, input can be provided several times in
corresponding works. In this way, the competition could, in succession to customize the result. An image-based prompt
a certain way, enrich itself unfairly from the achievements can be any kind of image. Prompts are traded on free and
of an author. commercial prompt platforms and are usually text-based
Information ethics and media ethics are devoted to copy- prompts.
right issues and creative processes surrounding image gen- Prompts reveal a lot about the user’s mindset, attitude,
erators. Business ethics examines the shifts that result from interests, tastes, and, ultimately, the person. In this respect,
the infringement of rights, including the aspect of abuse they are not unlike entries in search engines or entries in
through the gratuitous and unlawful use of data. In addi- image searches in search engines and on image platforms. In
tion, legal ethics is in play, especially as it involves boundary addition, prompts can contain personal data. This risk may
issues in law. be less with image generators than with text generators. But
some users have images of celebrities generated and enter
5.2 Copyright protection corresponding data. Accordingly, informational autonomy
may be violated. This problem is also present with image-
Whether works created with image generators have copy- based prompts.
right protection is the subject of numerous expert opinions Information ethics and media ethics raise questions about
and the case law of several countries. A March 2023 U.S. data privacy, image protection, and informational autonomy
guideline specifies when and how much AI may be used when prompts are entered. Business ethics examines the
in a work for it to still enjoy copyright protection (Copy- opportunities presented by trading prompts through plat-
right Office 2023). According to the agency, users do not forms. In addition, legal ethics is involved when considering
have ultimate creative control over how these systems inter- the violation of image rights.
pret prompts and generate material (Grüner 2023). Instead,
according to them, these prompts function more like instruc- 5.4 Responsibility and liability
tions for a commissioned artist. Accordingly, copyright pro-
tection is not possible here. Most image generators are semi-autonomous systems. Users
Works, on the other hand, that have been created with have to enter prompts for something to be generated—i.e.,
sufficient human participation should receive copyright pro- autonomously processed and automatically generated. In
tection (Grüner 2023). This can include, for example, sub- principle, autonomous systems can arise, for example, when
sequent editing of AI works with the help of image editing the prompts are created and transmitted by one machine and

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AI & SOCIETY

processed by another—a virtual one, as in the case of text, 5.6 False representations of beings and things
image, and video generators, or a physical one, as in the case
of a robot. As with all (partially) autonomous machines, Forgeries and false information are nothing new in the field
questions arise about responsibility (in the moral and legal of images. Camera-produced images have been manipulated
sense) and liability (in the legal sense). since the beginning of photography. A famous example is
For example, an AI-generated image that contains mis- the retouching of Leon Trotsky in a photograph (Dreier and
information and is mistaken for a reflection of reality could Andina 2022). Even earlier in the nineteenth century, there
cause harm in certain contexts. Discriminatory images also was faking. For example, the head of the American presi-
raise issues. AI systems and robots cannot bear responsibil- dent Abraham Lincoln was mounted on the body of another
ity from an ethical perspective (Schwarz 2022). Responsibil- politician (Finnegan 2005). In the twentieth and twenty-first
ity is always borne by humans, although developers, facilita- centuries, post-processing of models and influencers is the
tors, and operators can be many people. On the user side, norm, performed by the media or by the subjects themselves
it may be equally difficult to identify a single responsibility (Nymoen and Schmitt 2021).
bearer, for example, when it comes to employees or depart- AI-based image generators open up new possibilities and
ments in a company with different roles and rights. allow manipulation in seconds. For example, images of Don-
Information ethics and media ethics raise questions about ald Trump’s alleged arrest and Putin’s alleged genuflection
responsibility and liability in the context of image genera- to Xi were disseminated (Ong 2023). They were quickly
tors as autonomous systems. In addition, legal ethics is in recognizable as fake and still generated lively discussions.
play when considering the liability by an electronic person. Boris Eldagsen won the 2023 Sony World Photo Award with
his AI-generated image of two woman (who never existed).
According to his own statement, he only wanted to make a
5.5 Stereotypical, discriminatory, racist, and sexist test with the application and declined the price (Dent 2023).
depictions Not only can one manufacture arbitrary content, but it can
be disseminated instantly. In communities like Midjour-
Stereotypical representations stand out in most image gen- ney’s, one sees the products of other members directly, but
erators (Bianchi et al. 2022). For example, women are often this means that one is aware of the context, so the risk of
presented with long hair, big eyes, large breasts, and a child- manipulation is reduced.
like face. A large neckline and limited clothes show a lot of Information ethics and media ethics are interested in fal-
skin. Most artificial women are young and attractive. Men sification, manipulation, and misinformation through image
often appear rather angular in face and body while being synthesis. Political ethics examines the implications for the
confident and combative in posture. Some depictions can be political sphere, for example, the weakening of democ-
understood as discriminatory, racist, and sexist. For exam- racy, while business ethics examines those in the economic
ple, some generators tend to depict PoC in a light-colored sphere. Legal ethics is also involved in terms of character
manner or women in suggestive poses or with provocative assassination and defamation.
facial expressions.
Also, programs may have a cultural bias, as they are pri- 5.7 New forms of beauty and new beauty contests
marily based on the English language and the images used
for training are largely from Western culture, meaning that Beauty is associated with perfection in the discipline of aes-
generated images may therefore reflect stereotypical ideas thetics. It is what we strive for when we take care of our
(Breithut 2022). A majority of European or North American body and face, and what we would like to see and experi-
looking individuals are shown. When asked about young, ence in others (Siegmund 2022). Several beauty contests
attractive women, images of white girls with brown or blond have been decided by AI (Jacoba et al. 2023). Humans—
hair and Western clothing are often generated. However, especially women—were thus exposed to the judgment of
these are only results from the author’s own tests, which machines and had to meet their requirements, ultimately
are not representative. There are other findings as well—for based, of course, on human taste. Conversely, in other con-
example, DALL-E Mini’s obsession with women in saris is texts, humans judged the beauty of artificial humans, such as
reported (Leffer 2022). digital models like Miquela Sousa (Lil Miquela machuca),
Information ethics and media ethics ask about the emer- Noonoouri, Shudu Gram, and Lightning, as well as other
gence of stereotypes and discriminatory, racist, and sexist avatars. They play an important role in shows and in online
representations in image synthesis. In addition, legal eth- and print media. Overall, we live in an “aesthetic society”
ics is involved considering the potential for discrimination. (Manovich 2020).
Machine ethics can provide methods for limiting queries The perfection of some representations of people creates
and outputting content, such as meta-rules and restrictions. a new beauty contest. Now, young people in particular are

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 AI & SOCIETY

competing not only against influencers, porn stars, singers, and consequences that arise from the inclusion of avatars
and actors, but also against artificial humans, their gentle and holograms.
skin, their full lips, their big eyes. This can put them under
stress and foster new fears of failure. In addition, people
5.9 Acting out the imagination
chase after unattainable goals. This has been studied not
only in the Western context, but also, for example, in Paki-
Image generators make it possible to create representations
stan (Qureshi 2022).
that correspond to one’s own ideas and desires. With them,
Further, comparisons and beauty contests between artifi-
in other words, one can live out one’s fantasy, and even let
cial humans are conceivable, initiated by media and agencies
the fantasy become reality, even though it is only virtual.
(Marain 2019). Thereby, not only human characteristics of
This refers to the appearance of people, but also to fantasy
beauty could be emphasized in the images, but equally new,
figures of all kinds, such as landscapes, cities, etc. In this
artificial ones could be introduced. The deviations could be
sense, it is a generator of beauty and utopia. Many artists
rejected by end users as part of reinforcement learning from
and photographers chase the same experience (Eco 2010).
human feedback, but also endorsed and thereby reinforced.
The creation of people by the user according to his or
The spread of the new beauty could perhaps gradually lead
her own wishes admittedly has a more sinister side. For
to a new ideal of beauty.
example, it can involve problematic representations, either
Technology ethics asks about the relationship between
because the figure is problematic in itself, such as being
technology and beauty, specifically the generation of beauty.
nude, or because it is interwoven with problematic actions
Media ethics investigates the perfection of images and the
and contexts. Such phenomena also occurred in Second
role of the agencies and media involved. Business ethics
Life, where child avatars were “abused” (Reeves 2013)
examines the possibilities and consequences of including
with mostly adult users behind them (Bendel 2012b). The
avatars and (pseudo or quasi) holograms.
majority of image generators try to prevent such outcomes
by rejecting explicit prompts, with “hacking” always being
5.8 Falling in love with artificial persons
used to counteract this setting.
Information ethics and media ethics ask questions about
Some artificial persons could be considered very beautiful,
virtual abuse. Business ethics examines the opportunities
either because they conform to or deviate from the com-
presented by virtual pornography. In addition, legal ethics
mon ideal of beauty, or because they satisfy individual ideas
considers whether use of child avatars should be punishable.
of it. Youth and attractiveness, associated with health and
strength, are essential factors from an evolutionary biologi-
cal perspective (Jones et al. 2021). They ensure survival 5.10 Rejections and restrictions
and represent an advantage in reproduction. With technical
means, any abundance of youth and attractiveness can be Image generators—like text generators—have restrictions
generated and fed into the appropriate channels—for exam- regarding their prompts. If they contain certain keywords or
ple, social media platforms such as TikTok or Instagram. statements, they will not be executed. The programs reject
The fact that people can fall in love with artifacts has the prompts, for example, citing that explicit or sexual depic-
been proven many times. These include dolls, social robots, tions are not desired. It is unclear whether data on these
or (pseudo or quasi) holograms (Bendel 2020). Pictures can rejections—beyond history—are collected and analyzed.
also arouse the desire to get to know the apparent person Stable Diffusion attempts to prevent sexual content but
better and to look at him or her from all sides. With some allows problematic content in other ways: “it aims to prevent
image generators, one can vary the image. However, the sexual content, it ignores violence, gore, and other similarly
results often look like a completely different person, which disturbing content” (Rando et al. 2022).
may disappoint expectations. Thus, if one becomes seriously This means that the moral rules of the manufacturers are
addicted to an image, it is difficult to get multiple consistent applied without these having to be in the interests of the user.
representations. Further progress could solve this problem, Some refer (in the case of text generators also in their out-
and one could get convincing images from all stages of the puts) to the fact that in different cultures and with different
apparent person’s life. Again, this can be disconcerting, individuals, different moral concepts exist, which one must
especially looking into the future. do justice to. However, one could specify in one’s profile
The ethics of technology asks about the relationship what one wants and tolerates. Another reason is that those
between technology and beauty, especially concerning the responsible for image generators do not want to generate a
generation of passion. Media ethics also addresses the prob- certain content. For example, one does not want the image
lem of the perfection of images and the role of agencies and generators to become porn generators through the prefer-
media involved. Business ethics examines the possibilities ences of their users. This is rather understandable, because

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AI & SOCIETY

a company has the right to locate a service or product in a Alpha has developed a powerful language model. Stable Dif-
specific area. fusion uses developments from universities, among others.
Information ethics and media ethics are interested in the AI-generated images are very likely to change the market.
issue of censorship of image generators in this context, while Image platforms could lose customers, on the creator and
business ethics is specifically interested in the issue of denial user side. At the same time, they are integrating generative
of service. In addition, legal ethics is in play. Moral rules are AI (Growcoot 2022). Jobs for illustrators and photographers
applied, so this can be considered in the context of machine could decline. Instead, a few IT and AI companies will dom-
ethics (Anderson and Anderson 2011; Bendel 2019a). Man- inate the market with their offerings—or savvy users who
ufacturers implicitly or explicitly drive machine ethics. can produce the content they want, and who in turn depend
on the producers and their business models.
5.11 Production of kitsch Information ethics and media ethics ask about the moral
implications of the changing use of images and the changes
Kitsch “is something that appeals to popular or lowbrow in the images themselves. Business ethics examines the
taste and is often of poor quality” (Merriam-Webster 2023). dependencies that arise in the course of image synthesis and
The American dictionary Merriam-Webster says about the the possible formation of monopolies.
origin of the word: “Kitsch is an early 20th-century bor-
rowing from German, and it refers to things in the realm of
5.13 Change of business models
popular culture that are tacky, like car mirror dice, plastic
flamingos, and dashboard hula dancers.” (Merriam-Webster
In the case of several generators, a certain number of images
2023) At the same time, many people love kitsch and are
or generation time is free—for additional content, one must
strongly connected to it emotionally (Siegmund 2022).
then pay, for example, as part of a subscription. This can be
Many results appear kitschy to the trained observer. This
interpreted as attracting users and then making them depend-
will be due in part to the data used, and in part to the evalu-
ent, which is a common model in the business world (Houde
ations and classifications in the field of reinforcement learn-
et al. 2020). As with other products and services, many users
ing from human feedback. It is probably exactly this kitsch
do not actually have a need for the tool, but are persuaded
that appeals to many people and makes them use the result-
by the hype, pressure from colleagues and friends, or other
ing images privately and commercially. The photo-realistic
factors to use it excessively.
images of Midjourney are partly reminiscent of Instagram
It is unclear how business models will evolve and how
and the filters used there.
fees and costs for single use or subscriptions will increase.
The flood of kitschy images could create new view-
For independents and businesses that rely on these services
ing habits. The trained eye and informed taste are lost. Of
and abandon existing contracts and partnerships, this could
course, this can also be an opportunity to question old view-
present challenges and even existential problems at some
ing habits. Kitsch obviously has an effect that hardly anyone
point. However, private individuals and companies—such as
can escape, in the performing arts as well as in literature.
media houses—may also have the advantage of scalability
The question arises as to whether classical classifications in
(Hetler 2023). They can create graphics as needed and do
art still apply at all in the case of AI.
not have to enter into contracts with self-employed persons
Media ethics examines the moral aspects of the change
or create jobs.
in taste caused by a flood of new images. Business ethics
Information ethics and media ethics are devoted to this
is interested in the new markets that are being created as
problem area in relation to peer pressure in the use of image
a result and that are displacing others. Art ethics is also
generators. Business ethics examines the methods used and
involved when considering the question of classical clas-
the dependencies and shifts that arise.
sifications in art (Fenner 2013).

5.12 Dependence on corporations 5.14 Facilitating and changing work

AI-enabled tools and generative AI are undoubtedly driven Image generators make work easier and take it away. This
by corporations, such as Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta. One applies to experts such as designers and draftsmen (Engen-
often needs enormous computing power and a corresponding hart and Löwe 2022), but especially to amateurs, who can
budget for training and development. Still, there are smaller create high-quality, appealing works with the help of suit-
vendors that have shaken up the market. For example, the able prompts without any relevant skills. This opens up com-
programs from the German company DeepL are very power- pletely new possibilities for them. They can illustrate docu-
ful, both for translating (DeepL) and for correcting and edit- ments, articles, and books, with relatively good control over
ing (DeepL Write). In addition, the German company Aleph the output, even if the best prompts do not always produce

13

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 AI & SOCIETY

the desired result. They can likewise create independent replacement of labor and the emergence of unemployment
images and works of art. in the creative and administrative professions.
The work of experts can seriously change in response to
this (Davenport and Mittal 2022). They need appropriate
prompts and thus linguistic skills. They need to rework, rear- 6 Summary and outlook
range, etc., the artifacts to fit the context. For some, all this
will make the work more productive, for others, less produc- This paper first gave an introduction to generative AI and
tive. Engenhart and Löwe (2022) show in their work exten- then to applied ethics in this context. Then, three image
sive possibilities to renew graphic design. It is clear from generators were briefly introduced: DALL-E 2, Stable Dif-
their comments that the results can be changed and improved fusion, and Midjourney. This was followed by a detailed
in some respects. Presumably, the work no longer has the ethical discussion of image synthesis. Not only risks but also
same completeness and value as before, and the illustrator opportunities were addressed. Each topic was classified into
is only responsible for part of the process. In the case of the applied ethics, more specifically the fields of information
photographer, the work changes completely, because he or ethics, technology ethics, media ethics, and business ethics,
she no longer photographs an object of reality when creating as well as machine ethics.
photorealistic images, but rather thinks up this object and Ethical and, to a lesser extent, social and legal aspects
lets the machine create it. Advertising and marketing depart- were dealt with. These can be assigned to areas such as cop-
ments have to judge images and elements according to new yright, data protection and informational autonomy, respon-
criteria and can also use the generators to create figurative sibility and liability, deception and manipulation, changes
marks, for example. in the standard of beauty and the concept of art, dominance
Information ethics examines the powerfulness or ineffec- and censorship, dependence on providers, and work sup-
tiveness of prompts as compressed inputs of data and infor- port or substitution. Some opportunities could be seen as
mation. Media ethics is interested in the shifts in the com- well as numerous risks. The transformation potential for an
petencies of media creation and media use. Business ethics important area of the creative professions became obvious.
examines the changing nature of work and labor relations. It is formally a second wave of digitization that is taking
hold of the image. First, the image itself became virtual,
then the activity leading to the image, with the partial loss
5.15 Substitution of work of a human creator.
Other related points are also of interest. For example,
For professional graphic designers and illustrators (to give the mostly text-based prompts are a challenge to pay new
two examples of professional groups), there are significant attention to language as a cultural tool. What is needed are
risks for their professions. For a long time, creative profes- extremely precise descriptions that can train the user’s lan-
sions were considered protected but this is no longer true for guage skills. In addition, imagination is required as to how
either text or images (Davenport and Mittal 2022; Arielli and the text can become an image that satisfies individual or
Manovich 2022). Depending on the business model and on professional demands. Ultimately, it is a matter of new con-
the behavior of private individuals and companies, they will nections between text and image. Previously, it was common
retain only some of their work or lose it altogether. The ques- to describe an image after it was created. Now one describes
tion is whether they will find new niches and whether they it before its creation and for the purpose of its creation.
will still have the upper hand, for example, in longer picto- All topics could be assigned to areas of applied ethics,
rial narratives such as comics. However, it is to be expected which have specialized on individual points and developed
that more and more image generators will be able to meet their own vocabulary (sometimes even their own methods).
even these requirements—which form only a small market Of course, terms and concepts of general, empirical as well
anyway. as normative ethics are equally relevant. Thus, one can
Marketing and advertising departments, as well as public repeatedly argue with human dignity, which is violated with
relations and communications departments, are also threat- images, or with equality and equal rights. Concepts such as
ened. Image series, visual campaigns, CD templates, etc. discrimination, racism, and sexism were mentioned in sev-
can be realized at the push of a button, where specialists in eral fields of applied ethics, but of course have an anchoring
this field are not necessarily needed. Logos can be generated in ethics as a whole and are the subject of other areas such as
and edited. When video generators become established, the political ethics (which was only listed in one place).
pressure will be directed at commercial filmmakers, direc- Machine ethics was also included. This is often directed at
tors, and cameramen. physical machines such as care robots or household robots,
Media ethics addresses this problem of the shift in com- i.e., hardware robots. However, the paper also showed the
petencies in media production. Business ethics examines the potential for software robots to be included here. Chatbots

13

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AI & SOCIETY

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