Some technology trends emerge, make an awful lot of noise, and then – mercifully, as was the case with NFTs – fall away. Others prove a bit stickier. We’re seeing it right now with AI tools, which have become so commonplace that it’s difficult to begin even drafting a straightforward email without being offered help to make it land more effectively. It’s easy to decline such an offer, but it’s difficult to ignore how the increased capabilities of AI-powered image generation is harming the prospects of human creators. As discussed here previously, though, we can’t simply demean any and all machine-assisted solutions for putting images onto a screen because for years now we have been offloading work from actual artists’ hands and enjoying the benefits. What would Minecraft be without its procedural level generation? How many planets would be in No Man’s Sky if the small art team at Hello Games had to actually model them? On a more granular level, how about the endless brushes relied upon by just about every digital artist working outside of pushing around individual pixels? Is it in some way ‘cheating’ to use computer assistance this way? It certainly doesn’t feel like it, but it does invite the drawing of distinctions.
It’s one thing to recreate a popular meme in the style of Studio Ghibli and share it via social media for amusement value, but clearly it would be another to produce a feature-length anime in the same vein. The problem is that the keenest proponents of AI-authored imagery seem to support precisely this happening. (On the plus side, the audience for such a production probably deserves every glob of slop that can be spewed out.)
The world of illustration, in particular, has already taken a beating from AI-authored art, and it will suffer further as technology improves. We will continue to commission human artists in Edge, and support actors and other creatives fighting for their rights in challenging circumstances.
OK. Time to kill some monsters to lighten the mood. Our cover story showcasing Bloober Team’s Cronos: The New Dawn begins on p54.