Join our newsletters to get the latest updates and exclusive content on top industry AI coverage.
Nightshade is a new, free tool from computer science researchers at the University of Chicago designed to help artists stop AI models from using their artwork without permission. In just five days since its release, it has already been downloaded 250,000 times.
Ben Zhao, a computer science professor and leader of the project, shared his surprise at the high level of interest and enthusiasm for Nightshade. This strong reception indicates a significant need among artists to protect their work from unauthorized use in AI training. There are over 2.67 million artists in the U.S. alone, but Zhao believes the tool’s reach is even broader, with downloads coming from all over the world based on social media reactions.
Nightshade works by subtly altering the pixels of artworks posted online so that AI models misinterpret the images. For example, an altered image might make an AI see a purse instead of a cow. By training on these manipulated images, the AI starts generating incorrect imagery. This increases the cost of training on unlicensed data, making it more likely that AI companies will opt to license images legitimately.
The demand for Nightshade was so high that it overwhelmed the University of Chicago’s web servers, leading the creators to provide additional download links. The team’s previous tool, Glaze, features over 2.2 million downloads since its release in April 2023. Glaze prevents AI models from learning an artist’s unique style by subtly changing pixels in a way that confuses machine learning algorithms.
Looking ahead, Zhao and his team plan to combine the defensive capabilities of Glaze with the offensive features of Nightshade into a single tool. However, this combined tool requires thorough testing and will take at least a month to be ready. For now, they recommend artists use Glaze first and then Nightshade for maximum protection, even though using two separate programs is more cumbersome.
There may also be an open-source version of Nightshade in the future, although this will take additional time to develop. Zhao mentioned that they have not, and do not expect to, hear from companies behind AI image-generating technologies like OpenAI, Midjourney, or Stability AI about their project.
Stay updated with the latest news by subscribing to our newsletter.