Nightshade: the 'data poisoning' tool boosting fightback against AI

Tool is like 'putting hot sauce in your lunch so it doesn't get stolen from the workplace fridge', says creator

A photo collage of a robotic hand reaching towards a painting. The man in the painting wields a bunch of nightshade in a protective gesture.
(Image credit: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images)

A new tool used by creatives to "poison" artificial intelligence models and stop them from using their artwork without consent was downloaded more than a quarter of a million times in just five days.

Nightshade, a free tool created by computer science researchers at the University of Chicago, is the latest "weapon" helping to protect artists' work from becoming "machine learning fodder", said Mashable.

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