Legal and Ethical Considerations for Using AI-Generated Images in Business

The legal and ethical considerations for using AI-generated images in business primarily revolve around copyright ownership, authenticity, consent, and compliance with advertising and child protection laws.

Legal considerations include:

• Copyright and ownership: AI-generated images may not qualify for copyright protection if created without human authorship, leaving businesses vulnerable to infringement claims if the AI output closely resembles copyrighted works used in the training data. This can expose businesses to lawsuits or takedowns.

• Right of publicity: Using AI-generated images that depict real individuals, especially celebrities, without consent can violate their right of publicity, leading to legal claims. Several high-profile cases have involved unauthorized AI-generated celebrity likenesses in ads.

• Compliance with advertising standards: AI-generated images used in marketing must not mislead consumers by implying unrealistic product results, as regulated by authorities like the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and consumer protection laws.

• Child protection laws: Creating or distributing AI-generated images of children that are indecent or inappropriate can constitute a criminal offence under laws such as the Protection of Children Act 1978, even if the images are not of real children.

• Use of commercially licensed AI tools: Businesses should use AI platforms that explicitly permit commercial use and carefully review licensing terms to avoid legal pitfalls.

Ethical considerations include:

• Authenticity and transparency: Using AI-generated images to represent non-existent team members or misrepresent products can erode customer trust and be considered deceptive. Transparency about AI use is important to maintain integrity and genuine client relationships.

• Avoiding bias and insensitivity: AI-generated content can unintentionally produce insensitive or inappropriate imagery, especially for diverse audiences, so ethical use requires careful review to avoid harm or offense.

• Respecting artists’ styles and consent: Copying an artist’s signature style or generating faces resembling real people without consent raises ethical concerns about originality and privacy.

• Environmental impact and broader social responsibility: Ethical use also involves considering the environmental footprint of AI technologies and their societal implications.

Best practices for businesses include:

• Using AI tools with clear commercial licenses and keeping records of creation and licensing.

• Avoiding AI-generated likenesses of real people without permission, especially celebrities.

• Ensuring AI-generated images comply with advertising and child protection laws.

• Being transparent with customers about the use of AI-generated content to maintain trust.

• Regularly reviewing AI outputs for bias, accuracy, and ethical appropriateness.

In summary, businesses must navigate a complex landscape of copyright law, publicity rights, advertising regulations, and ethical standards when using AI-generated images to avoid legal liability and maintain consumer trust.