A number of online sites that sell the rights to use images commercially now offer artificial intelligence-generated images. Some people claim they aren't really legal, because the AI is "trained" on copyrighted images.
To cut to the chase, using AI to generate a generic picture of a person doing somersaults in the desert would presumably be 1) legal, or 2) it would be so generic no one would either notice or care.
However, suppose one uses AI to generate a picture of a famous person (e.g. John Wayne or Elvis Presley). I'm assuming neither the subject nor their estate could sue as long as the picture isn't derogatory and doesn't violate their publicity rights. However, suppose a photographer who once took a photo of Elvis Presley says "Hey, that looks like a derivative of my photo!"
In plain English, are AI-generated images of famous people legal? I'm guessing they are legal unless and until a photographer or artist claims copyright infringement, in which case they would have to prove their claim in court.
(Sorry for the confusing question; I'm juggling a lot of new legal terms and issues I'm currently trying to understand.)
EDIT:
Jurisdiction: United States.
Use: Commercial non-fiction book.