Apocryphal Assumptions About Artistry and Artificial Intelligence:  A Case Analysis of Andersen v. Stability AI Ltd.

Allen, Lin; Yeh, Shea-Tinn

Apocryphal Assumptions About Artistry and Artificial Intelligence: A Case Analysis of Andersen v. Stability AI Ltd.

James Alexander Gordon on 28th November 2025

Author Information

Lin Allen, University of Northern Colorado, United States
Shea-Tinn Yeh, University of Northern Colorado, United States

Abstract

This study explores the nature and function of human artistry versus artificial intelligence via an analysis of court documents in Andersen v. Stability AI Ltd., 3:23-cv-00201. Filed in the Northern District of California on January 13, 2023, this class-action lawsuit was brought by visual artists including Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, and Karla Ortiz against Stability AI Ltd., Runway AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt. Plaintiffs allege their copyrighted artworks were scraped from the internet without permission and used to train AI models to create arts. Our goal is to decipher the hidden, tacit, apocryphal assumptions about art and artificial intelligence through the framework of the Johari Window of four quadrants (Open, Blind, Hidden, Unknown). By comparing and contrasting the quadrants revealed within Plaintiff versus Respondent discourse, we will answer two research questions (RQs), RQ1: What are the apocryphal arguments that shape our understanding of human-derived artistry versus artificially-derived artistry? RQ2: How does identification of these apocryphal elements illuminate the nature, function and potential of human-derived and artificially-derived creativity? Our contribution will assist advocates on both sides of the issue to understand, and hence better respond to, counterclaims.