NovelAI is an online cloud-based, SaaS model, and a paid subscription service for AI-assisted storywriting[2][3][4] and text-to-image synthesis,[5] originally launched in beta on June 15, 2021,[6] with the image generation feature being implemented later on October 3, 2022.[5][7] NovelAI is owned and operated by Anlatan, which is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.[1]

Developer(s)Anlatan[1]
Initial release2021
TypeText-generation model, text-to-image model
LicenseProprietary
Websitenovelai.net

Features

edit
 
An image generated by NovelAI based on the text prompt "Girl, impressionism, (faint light), looking at hand, business suit, Rectangular glasses"

NovelAI uses GPT[broken anchor]-based large language models (LLMs)[8][9] to generate storywriting and prose.[10] It has several models, such as Calliope, Sigurd, Euterpe, Krake, and Genji, with Genji being a Japanese-language model.[11][12] The service also offers encrypted servers and customizable editors.[10][13]

For AI art generation, which generates images from text prompts, NovelAI uses a custom version of the source-available Stable Diffusion[2][14] text-to-image diffusion model called NovelAI Diffusion, which is trained on a Danbooru-based[5][1][15][16] dataset.

NovelAI is also capable of generating a new image based on an existing image.[17] The NovelAI terms of service states that all generated content belongs to the user, regardless if the user is an individual or a corporation.[5] Anlatan states that generated images are not stored locally on their servers.[1]

History

edit

On April 28, 2021, Anlatan officially launched NovelAI.[6][18]

On June 15, 2021, Anlatan released their finetuned GPT-Neo-2.7B model from EleutherAI named Calliope, after the Greek Muses. A day later, they released their Opus-exclusive GPT-J-6B finetuned model named Sigurd,[6][18] after the Norse/Germanic hero.

On March 21, 2023, NVIDIA and CoreWeave announced Anlatan being one of the first CoreWeave customers to deploy NVIDIA's H100 Tensor Core GPUs[19] for new LLM model inferencing and training.[4][20][21][22]

On April 1, 2023, Anlatan added ControlNet features to their text-to-image NovelAI Diffusion model.[23][24]

On May 16, 2023, Anlatan announced that they named their H100 cluster Shoggy, a reference to H.P. Lovecraft's Shoggoths, which was used to pre-train an undisclosed 8192 token context LLM in-house model.[25]

Reception and controversy

edit
 
Art generated by NovelAI's furry diffusion model, depicting a dragon in a forest

Following the implementation of image generation, NovelAI became a widely-discussed topic in Japan, with some online commentators noting that its image synthesis features are very adept at producing close impressions of anime characters,[5] including lolicon and shotacon imagery,[26] while others have expressed concern that it is a paid service reliant on a diffusion model, while the original machine learning training data consists of images used without the consent of the original artists.[5][27][1][15][16] Attorney Kosuke Terauchi notes that, since a revision of the law in 2018, it is no longer illegal in Japan for machine learning models to scrape copyrighted content from the internet to use as training data;[1] meanwhile, in the United States where NovelAI is based, there is no specific legal framework which regulates machine learning, and thus the fair use doctrine of US copyright law applies instead.[1] Danbooru has posted an official statement in regards to NovelAI's use of the site's content for AI training, expressing that Danbooru is not affiliated with NovelAI, and does not endorse nor condone NovelAI's use of artists' artworks for machine learning.[1][15][14]

FayerWayer described NovelAI as a service capable of generating hentai.[28] Manga artist Izumi Ū commented that while the manga style art generated by NovelAI is highly accurate, there are still imperfections in the output, although he views these as human-like in a favourable light nonetheless.[29]

In response to the topic of NovelAI, Narugami, founder of the Japanese freelance artist commissioning website Skeb, stated on October 5, 2022 that the use of AI image generation is prohibited on the platform since 2018.[30] Illustrations using NovelAI have been posted on social media and illustration posting sites, and by October 13, 2,111 works tagged with #NovelAI were posted on Pixiv. Pixiv has stated that it is not considering a complete elimination of creations that use AI,[31] though it requires AI-generated posts to be marked as such and allows users to filter them out.[32]

Incidents

edit

On October 6, 2022, NovelAI experienced a data breach where its software's source code was leaked.[33][34]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "画像生成AIサービス「NovelAI Diffusion」が無断転載サイトからの学習で物議 法的観点からも複雑な事態に". Yahoo! Japan News (in Japanese). October 5, 2022. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Kyle Wiggers (August 24, 2022). "Deepfakes for all: Uncensored AI art model prompts ethics questions". TechCrunch. For example, NovelAI has been experimenting with Stable Diffusion to produce art that can accompany the AI-generated stories created by users on its platform.
  3. ^
  4. ^ a b "NVIDIA Hopper GPUs Expand Reach as Demand for AI Grows". NVIDIA Newsroom. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Daiki Yoshikawa (October 3, 2022). "「とんでもなくハイクオリティー」 話題の画像AI「Novel AI」でひたすら二次元美少女と美少年を生成してみた". ITmedia News (in Japanese).
  6. ^ a b c Max Hjelm (October 20, 2021). "How CoreWeave Helped NovelAI Grow from 0 to 40K Users in 3 Months". coreweave.
  7. ^
  8. ^ "CoreWeave partners with EleutherAI & NovelAI to make open-source AI more accessible". PR Newswire. February 2, 2022.
  9. ^ Anthony Alford (August 31, 2021). "OpenAI Announces 12 Billion Parameter Code-Generation AI Codex". InfoQ.
  10. ^ a b "NovelAI Features". Dataconomy. October 3, 2022.
  11. ^ NovelAI (May 30, 2022). "The faces of NovelAI's AI Models: Part 1". Medium. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  12. ^ NovelAI (May 30, 2022). "The Faces of NovelAI's AI Models: Part 2". Medium. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  13. ^ Murch, Peter (May 31, 2023). "Best AI Story Generators in 2023". PC Guide. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "イラスト自動生成AI「NovelAI」について学習元となったDanbooru公式が声明を発表". Gigazine (in Japanese). October 5, 2022. 学習したデータセットに海外の二次元画像サイト・Danbooruの画像を多く含んでいるといわれています.そんなDanbooruの公式運営チームが、NovelAIについて声明を発表しました... しかし、Danbooruにアップロードされている二次元イラストの多くがPixivやTwitterなどのSNSに投稿された作品の転載であることが問題となっています... 画像生成部分についてはStable Diffusionにならっていながら、独自のアルゴリズムを実装しているとのこと. [The training dataset contains many images from the overseas 2D image site Danbooru. Danbooru's official management team issued a statement about NovelAI... However, many of the 2D illustrations uploaded to Danbooru are reuploads of works posted on social media such as Pixiv and Twitter... In regards to the site's image generation feature, it implements its own algorithm based on Stable Diffusion.]
  15. ^ a b c "「われわれはNovelAIと関係ない」──海外のイラストサイト「Danbooru」が日本語で声明". NicoNico News (in Japanese). October 5, 2022. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022. 海外のイラストサイト「Danbooru」は10月5日までに、画像生成AI「NovelAI Diffusion」(NovelAI)と無関係であると主張する声明を発表した... その中で、NovelAIの公式Twitterアカウント(@novelaiofficial)は、データ学習元にDanbooruを使っていると投稿.Twitter上ではNovelAIの違法性を問う声も上がっており... 声明では「われわれがNovelAIに関係していないことと、彼らがしてることを、支持はおろか容認もしていない」と公表. [On October 5, the overseas illustration website "Danbooru" released a statement stating that it had nothing to do with the image generation AI "NovelAI Diffusion" (NovelAI)... Among them, NovelAI's official Twitter account (@novelaiofficial) posted that it uses Danbooru as its training data. On Twitter, there are also voices questioning whether or not NovelAI is operating illegally... "We are not affiliated with NovelAI, and we do not endorse nor condone what they are doing," the statement said.]
  16. ^ a b "插畫AI又陷爭議!Novel AI官方自爆以非法搬運網站當訓練來源 生成圖片竟自帶簽名?". United Daily News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). October 4, 2022. Novel AI 近期在官方推特留言區回覆網友留言時, 提及自家人工智慧有透過名叫「Danbooru」的 ACG 圖片網站進行訓練... 許多圖片多來自 pixiv 跟推特的繪師二創、原創作畫... 隨著爭議引爆, 消息也傳到日本, 引起創作者的關切. [NovelAI recently responded to an online commentator's message on its official Twitter, stating that the AI was trained through the ACG image website "Danbooru"... Many pictures are reposts of fanarts and original artworks from Pixiv and Twitter... As the controversy unfurled, the news also reached Japan, causing concern among content creators.]
  17. ^
  18. ^ a b NovelAI (March 6, 2022). "The 1st NovelAI Stream & Q&A Summary". Medium. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  19. ^ "NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPU". NVIDIA. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  20. ^ "CoreWeave Announces NovelAI as Among the First to Have NVIDIA HGX H100 GPUs Online — CoreWeave". www.coreweave.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023. Anlatan, developers of NovelAI, will be among the first to deploy the latest NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs on CoreWeave, which began offering the new instances to select customers in February.
  21. ^ "CoreWeave Announces NovelAI as Among the First to Have NVIDIA HGX H100 GPUs Online". www.businesswire.com. March 21, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023. NovelAI, a generative AI company that creates literature and imagery with users' personal perspective and voice, will be one of the first customers to use CoreWeave's NVIDIA HGX H100 instances;
  22. ^ "AI cloud startup CoreWeave skyrocketed to a $7 billion valuation". new.blicio.us. December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023. CoreWeave valued at $7 billion
  23. ^ "NovelAIのControlNet(ControlTools/コントロールツール)の使い方を解説!| あきとのぶろぐ" [ControlNet appears in Novel AI! (How to use control tools)]. Blog with Aki (in Japanese). April 2, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023. 今回は、2023/4/1のNovelAIアップデートで追加された「ControlTools(コントロールツール)」についての記事になります!This time, it will be an article about " ControlTools" added in the NovelAI update on April 1, 2023!
  24. ^ "Novel AIにControlNetが登場!(コントロールツールの使い方)". BLOG CAKE (in Japanese). April 2, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023. Novel AIが、2023年4月1日に大型アップデートを発表したので、チェックしたいと思います.Novel AI has announced a major update on April 1, 2023, so I would like to check it out.
  25. ^ Roose, Kevin (May 30, 2023). "Why an Octopus-like Creature Has Come to Symbolize the State of A.I." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  26. ^ "推特熱議「NovelAI」大量產出高水準動漫圖, 繪師圈憂著作權爭議難解". 4Gamers (in Chinese (Taiwan)). October 4, 2022. 當然, 引起話題討論最多的是 NovelAI 所產出的大量蘿莉繪圖...這些圖片的題材非常廣泛, 也包含許多令人熟悉的要素, 如少女、天使、泳裝、女王、甚至百合或正太等領域 [Of course, widely discussed is the large number of lolicon drawings produced by NovelAI... The subject matter of these images are quite broad, and contain elements such as shōjo, angels, swimsuits, queens, and even lesbians and shotacon]
  27. ^ "様々な懸念や問題を抱えつつも「お絵かきAI」の進化は止まらず―AI技術の将来は如何に". Gamespark (in Japanese). October 4, 2022. AIの学習元がイラスト無断転載サイト「danbooru」である点が指摘されています... NovelAIは有料プランが前提となっているため、「金を取るのは流石におかしいのでは」といった声も上がっています. [It has been pointed out that the training material for the AI is Danbooru, an unauthorised illustration reuploading website... Since NovelAI works off a paid subscription, there has also been commentary saying that "it's definitely fucked up to be taking money".]
  28. ^ Perry, York (October 11, 2022). "Lanzan nueva Inteligencia Artificial que crea ilustraciones de animé un tanto candentes". FayerWayer (in Spanish).
  29. ^ Kouta Mukaihara (October 13, 2022). "プロ漫画家が話題の"お絵描きAI"を使うと? 元週刊少年誌連載作家が示した"違和感"と可能性". Real Sound (in Japanese).
  30. ^ "「SkebはツールとしてのAI利用を認めていない」 創業者が明言 規約には4年前から記載". Yahoo! News Japan (in Japanese). October 5, 2022. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022. 「Skebでは現在、ツールとしてのAIの利用を一律して認めていない」──イラスト発注サイト「Skeb」を運営するスケブ(東京都港区)の創業者のなるがみ... 画像生成AI「NovelAI Diffusion」(NovelAI)が話題になっていることを受け、AIについて自身の意見を述べている. ["Skeb currently rules out permitting the use of AI as a tool", states the founder of illustration commissioning site Skeb (based in Minato Ward, Tokyo), Narugami... In response to the issue relating to image generation AI "NovelAI Diffusion" (NovelAI), he expressed his view on AI.]
  31. ^ Tatsuki Matsuura (October 13, 2022). "ピクシブ、AIイラストの「完全な排斥は考えていない」 創作コミュニティーとの"共存"模索中". ITmedia News (in Japanese).
  32. ^ "pixiv's policy on AI-generated work". pixiv. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  33. ^ "超高精度なイラストを生成できると話題の「NovelAI」は本家Stable Diffusionにどんな改善を加えたのか?". Gigazine (in Japanese). October 11, 2022. そして2022年10月6日、NovelAIの公式Twitterアカウントは、AnlatanのGitHubリポジトリがハッキングに遭い、NovelAIのソースコードが流出したと発表しました. [On October 6, 2022, NovelAI's official Twitter account announced that Anlatan's GitHub repository was breached, and that NovelAI's source code was leaked.]
  34. ^ "画像生成AIの激変は序の口に過ぎない". ASCII.jp. December 2, 2022. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. 最も影響が大きかったのは10月8日に起きたとされる「Novel AI」のソースコード流出事件です.どういった形でハッキングされたのかは明らかにされていませんが、流出したとされるコードはおそらく本物だという結論になっています. [The biggest impact was the leak of NovelAI's source code, which reportedly occurred on October 8. It is not clear how the breach occurred, but it is very likely that the leaked code is genuine.]
edit