Las Vegas Arts Commission debates disclosure, tiers and enforcement for AI in art submissions

The Las Vegas Arts Commission spent a large portion of its June 18 meeting discussing whether the city should adopt a policy on the use of artificial intelligence in public-art and gallery submissions.

Laura Machado, cultural affairs staff, said the agenda item was prompted by artists who are already using AI tools to create images and that some municipalities are considering disclosure requirements. "It's a tool that artists are using," she said, and suggested beginning the conversation at the commission level before consulting the city attorney on formal rules.

Commissioners offered several approaches. Commissioner Portnoy recommended specifying the percentage of a finished artwork created with AI so evaluators could judge submissions comparatively. "One of the points we should discuss ... is a percentage of the finished artwork was utilizing AI," he said. Other commissioners argued that percentage figures would be difficult to verify and instead favored full disclosure combined with a tiered submission system that would indicate the level of AI involvement (for example, ideation-only versus fully AI generated).

Commissioners also discussed enforcement and legal risk. Some suggested requiring artists to provide process documentation (sketches, source layers) to demonstrate provenance; others recommended contract language that would require artists to warrant their work does not infringe third-party rights. The group debated whether to create a separate AI category for competitions or to require disclosure and allow evaluators to weigh entries accordingly.

No formal policy was adopted at the meeting. Commissioners recommended additional study, suggested inviting educators and city practitioners who use AI to brief the commission at a future meeting, and asked staff to continue drafting options for disclosure, tiers and procurement protections.