Ariadne's Tribe: Minoan Spirituality for the Modern World

Walk the sacred labyrinth with Ariadne, the Minotaur, the Great Mothers, Dionysus, and the rest of the Minoan family of deities. Ariadne's Tribe is an independent spiritual tradition that brings the deities of the ancient Minoans alive in the modern world. We're a revivalist tradition, not a reconstructionist one. We rely heavily on shared gnosis and the practical realities of Paganism in the modern world. Ariadne's thread reaches across the millennia to connect us with the divine. Will you follow where it leads?

Find out all about Ariadne's Tribe at ariadnestribe.com. We're an inclusive, welcoming tradition, open to all who share our love for the Minoan deities and respect for our fellow human beings.

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Minoan Path Blog: The changing of the art

Posted by on in Paths Blogs

You've probably heard about the AIs that people are using to make art these days. These are software programs that take a phrase the user inputs and turns it into a digital painting. But the software doesn't make these digital paintings from scratch. It creates them using a collection of art that's already in existence, that they gather and turn into a database. Where does this collection of art come from?

The AIs scrape it off the Internet.

Anywhere on the Internet, regardless of whether or not the art is copyrighted.

In other words, without the artists' permission.

That's bad enough. But many of these AIs charge people to use them, which means they're making money off of other people's art without their permission or compensation. There are other issues as well that concern the creative process, which to me is a sacred thing. But in practical, legal terms, using other people's art without their consent is the main issue.

Including my art. I've already seen some of it in use in a couple of AIs. So I've taken the art gallery down off of my website. I've also gone through these blog posts, all eight years of them (!) and removed my original art, replacing it with public domain images. (I may have missed one or two - if you happen to spot one, please let me know - thanks!)

I hate to have to do this, but I feel it's necessary to protect my work. It makes me sad that I can't share my Minoan-themed art with you without expecting it to be stolen from me and used by someone else, probably for a fee, when I'm not exactly getting rich off my art to start with.

I suspect that eventually, legislation will regulate how AIs can obtain and use the art that fills their databases. There are already class action lawsuits in the works.

But in the meantime, my Redbubble shop is the only place you'll find my art online.

I'm aware that there are also AIs scraping text off the Internet to use in digitized, automated writing. But I'm not going to remove this blog or hide the posts. I have a duty to the Pagan community to share what we're doing in Modern Minoan Paganism, how Ariadne's Tribe is living in relationship with our deities. So I'll keep blogging here, mindful of the fact that some AI somewhere is probably scraping my words off this site as I publish them.

Thanks for your patience as we navigate this new territory together.

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Laura Perry is a priestess and creator who works magic with words, paint, ink, music, textiles, and herbs. She's the founder and Temple Mom of Ariadne's Tribe, an inclusive Minoan spiritual tradition. When she's not busy drawing and writing, you can find her in the garden or giving living history demonstrations at local historic sites.

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