Etsy’s Creativity Standards are a new set of guidelines that the e-commerce platform has released to differentiate between human-made and AI products. 

The new guidelines specify that goods must be tagged appropriately and failure to do so would result in the removal of the goods. It should be noted that AI-generated artwork can still be sold on the website but there must be proper tags to distinguish between human-made goods and AI-generated goods. The bottom line is that sellers must maintain transparency. 

All goods on the e-commerce platform must include one of the appropriate tags such as 

1. Made by a seller - This tag included physical goods handmade or made with tools such as a Cricut machine.
2. Designed by a seller - This tag includes the AI-generated and original items to be sold.
3. Sourced by a seller - This tag consists of goods or items that can be personalised or customised by the seller on demand.
4. Handpicked by a seller - This tag includes vintage and other items carefully curated by the seller. 

Etsy’s Creativity Standards and the reasons for the new policies

Etsy has been a platform celebrated for its handmade/self-made items. It is a place for people to sell their artworks, clothing, handmade items and more. For a long time, it was only humans running the game on Etsy. However, the rise of AI saw the rise of AI-generated artworks that were being sold on the platform. 

Buyers of AI artworks are unaware that they are buying AI-generated artworks as there are no tags in place. Thus, the lack of transparency has turned some customers away from the e-commerce site.  

With Etsy’s Creativity Standards, the platform aims to take back the status of being a place where people can buy handmade goods. Etsy thus maintains that it wishes to remain a ‘human’ based platform. 

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