How ethical AI art platform ‘Artfair’ by Bria and Publicis London addresses the IP problem

You only need to think back to last year's trend of generating Studio Ghibli-style images of yourself to understand the ethical concerns surrounding gen AI and its largely unauthorised training data. At the time, the Japanese animation studio reportedly demanded that OpenAI stop using its copyrighted content for AI training, while co-founder Hayao Miyazaki condemned the technology as "an insult to life itself."

With strong views and huge studios to one side, however, artists without the legal might of Ghibli, Disney or DreamWorks have been left grappling with how to protect their work... the same problem has been faced by brands and agencies in the marketing sphere. As AI use across the industry has skyrocketed, so too have questions around the murky waters of AI intellectual property.

How do marketers protect their own distinctive assets? How do creatives ensure they aren't inadvertently infringing someone else's work?

How do agencies embrace AI without creating legal risk?

And perhaps most importantly, how does the industry do the right thing for commercial creativity in general?

One immediate way of reducing risk is to avoid prompts that explicitly reference copyrighted work. Another is to build AI tools with licensing, consent and attribution baked in from the outset. That's exactly what Publicis London has set out to do.

The agency partnered with AI company Bria to build Artfair, an ethical AI art platform that enables AI-generated work to be created in distinctive, licensed artistic styles, while ensuring artists approve, control and are fairly compensated whenever their work is used.

For artists, the platform offers greater protection, exposure and a new revenue stream. For brands, it provides the confidence to experiment with AI without the uncertainty surrounding copyright, while opening up new creative possibilities, whether they be personalised experiences or audience-generated campaigns.

To demonstrate the platform in practice, Publicis London and Cathay Pacific created 'Where Artistry Takes Flight', a mural-led activation within the airline's wider campaign 'Asia just got closer'.

At its centre was a large-scale mural that became the starting point for a wider public experience, inviting people to create their own artwork in Oliver Barrett's licensed style.

The ten finalists selected by public vote were later exhibited at an exclusive event at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, with the winning creator receiving two return flights to Hong Kong courtesy of Cathay Pacific.

Speaking at this launch event, Lisa Delany, Regional Head of Marketing and Lifestyle Europe at Cathay Pacific, described AI as opening up "a whole new world of possibilities", making creative work that had previously been out of reach commercially "possible" while stressing the importance of using it "ethically and safely".

Following the launch, we sat down with Publicis London CCO Noël Bunting to discuss why Artfair was created, whether ethical AI can become commercially viable and what agencies should be thinking about as AI moves from productivity tool to creative partner.

What was the original challenge behind Cathay Pacific's ‘Asia Just Got Closer’ campaign and why did Artfair feel like the right solution?

Noël Bunting: I think what was interesting about Artfair and this campaign was that it showed AI could be used as part of a triple-threat idea: out-of-home, online and an in-person event where people could experience the artwork as if they were at a gallery.

I’ve liked highlighting that AI can play a role in a campaign but be experienced in many different ways. We could have simply created a mural inspired by Oliver Barrett's artwork on the Artfair platform, but what we really wanted to do was showcase the platform itself. That's why we wanted people to create their own bespoke destination in Oliver Barrett's style.

Seeing it come to life was incredible. The big surprise for us wasn't just the number of submissions, but the quality of them. This is because the platform itself is really strong and more importantly, the artist's style is based on their real artwork that they have approved and chosen themselves.

As a result, the quality of the output is higher because it's learning from high-quality artwork.

It's really pushing back against AI slop, because you only get out what you put in.

What convinced Cathay Pacific to embrace Artfair when many brands still view AI primarily as a tool for efficiency and cost reduction rather than a tool for creativity?

Noël Bunting: Cathay really values the difference Artfair can make - one of the biggest being the fact that the artist receives 70% of the revenue generated, which is really fair for artists - hence the name. I don't know of any other platform that does that.

Cathay has always been a brand that's looking ahead. You can see that in the experience they create for travellers and in the way they approach new ideas more generally.

They were interested in what AI could offer, but they weren't interested in adopting it for the sake of it. Like everyone, they were understandably cautious about the tech and infringing on anyone's IP.

When we approached them with Artfair our client Lisa was immediately onboard. She immediately saw it as a way to explore the potential of AI while doing right by artists and giving the brand complete confidence in the provenance of the work.

I think Artfair is exactly what clients are hoping for - an easy yes when it comes to AI.

Cathay is also a brand that genuinely celebrates artistry. Their platform is all about the beauty of travel and the attention to detail that goes into the experience. They have a real appreciation for the arts, which you can see through their cultural partnerships.

What Artfair also does is give brands access to artists they might never have worked with before, or shortened a process that would have previously been long and complicated. Brands can browse the platform, discover an artist whose style they love and create work in collaboration with that style.

How comfortable have artists been licensing their creative DNA to an AI system like Artfair?

Noël Bunting: There are around 25 artists that have signed up at this point. A lot of them are award-winning big names like Ghostshrimp, who worked on Adventure Time for Cartoon Network.

I think they're passionate about it because they see AI as an inevitability and they want it to be done right.

They're not afraid of it at all, they just want it to benefit artists, because most artists simply want the best for other artists, so art can continue to thrive.

The idea is that this creates another revenue stream and allows artists to make a living as the platform grows. Ultimately, it shouldn't just be famous artists. It should also be artists who want to get their style out there and become known.

The artists that have joined are drawn to Artfair because there's a mutual respect between the technology and the art.

To what extent was Artfair driven by a moral belief about how AI should work, versus a commercial belief about where brands and consumers expect the industry to head?

Vered Horesh, Chief AI Strategy Officer at Bria, spoke at the Cathay Pacific x Artfair event on the panel discussion, ‘Reimagining Creative Partnership in the Era of AI,’ about using AI in ways that do not "cannibalise humans." As AI becomes more capable, how do we ensure technology expands creativity rather than replacing it?

Noël Bunting:  It all starts with education and making sure that, within our agencies, everyone knows what tools are available and what they're good for. They can work out how they fit into their own working life and how they can best help.

This is what I tell my creatives: don't rely on AI to give you ideas. The ideas come from you. AI helps bring those ideas to life. 

We use it most often to show clients what's possible. It's amazing because it gives them a snapshot of what's in your head. But the moment you think it's a magic button that's going to do your job for you, that's not how creativity works.

There's a quote I keep repeating: "AI is data, and data can only look backwards. Creativity looks forward."

It's up to us to keep using the power of our own imagination. The moment AI becomes a crutch, you're no longer allowing your brain to fully explore ideas.

I actually encourage people to stare at a wall for half an hour. I used to create a sensory deprivation chamber for myself to be alone with my thoughts and access my own imagination. I think people are afraid to do that now.

The power is still inside yourself. AI is simply the thing that helps get what's in your brain out into the world.

How much do you think public concerns about ethics influence negative reactions to AI-generated ads compared to the simple quality of the work itself?

Do you think ethical AI tools can become the commercial norm, rather than simply a premium alternative?

Noël Bunting: I would hope so.

I don't think there's anyone in this industry who doesn't want to celebrate human craft, and if they don't, they probably shouldn't be in this industry. If we're going to celebrate human craft, we need to give humans the chance to thrive.

That doesn't mean AI can't play a role in the creative process - it absolutely can. I hope Artfair becomes part of how we move forward. Hopefully this campaign has shown what's possible: how brands can collaborate with artists and use AI in an ethical way. If that simply becomes the norm, then we've achieved what we set out to do.

If it ends up being just one alternative way of working, that's still positive because at least people have the option.

More broadly, AI is now part of our lives. Personally, I'm not accepting it reluctantly - I think it's a really exciting time. There are lots of people using it in thoughtful and creative ways. As with any technology, there will always be people who use it unethically. That doesn't mean the rest of us shouldn't use it responsibly.

It’s important to demonstrate that there's a way of using AI that's genuinely good and mutually beneficial for everyone involved. Hopefully that inspires others to do the same, while remembering that there are humans at the beginning of the process and humans at the end of it.

I also think we'll become much better at recognising good-quality work from bad-quality work. Humans are incredibly adaptable, and I don't believe anything is going to stamp out human creativity. That's simply not possible because, ultimately, humans are still the ones creating, interpreting and responding to all of this.

I keep coming back to the same image in my head: we're just humans talking to humans. AI is simply another way of facilitating that communication.

Technology has always evolved - from cave paintings onwards. We've gone from simple markings to an almost unimaginable level of technological possibility, and it will only continue to develop. We probably can't even imagine what will exist in the future, and in many ways, that's something we should be excited about.