Cartoonists fear for future of industry with rise of AI-generated illustrations

From Australian Broadcasting News.

The Herald Sun published this AI-generated image of Victorian Premier Ben Carroll

(Australian) cartoonists say they are worried about the future of their craft, as media companies continue to grapple with integrating artificial intelligence (AI) tools into their industry.

On Wednesday, the Herald Sun newspaper published an AI-generated illustration alongside an article about Victorian Premier Ben Carroll.

The illustration, which was clearly marked by the publisher as being AI generated, depicted Mr Carroll with a pirate's leg scraping barnacles off a ship decorated with former Labor premiers Jacinta Allan and Daniel Andrews.

The elephants in the room

 

AI is Killing Illustration Art

From The Daily Cartoonist.

There she was: a woman in a pose that suggested she was either about to sell me shoes or ask me to subscribe to her OnlyFans. Her legs spread in a way that made me wonder if Skechers had pivoted from athletic footwear to gynaecological equipment. The shoes—ostensibly the point of the advertisement—were an afterthought.

But this wasn’t just bad advertising. This was the death of commercial illustration happening in real time, one algorithmically-generated subway poster at a time. It isn’t new. I’ve written about it before— but this time it’s getting even more ubiquitous. More companies are doing it, and it’s getting gross.

Jason Chatfield discusses the passing of an art form: Death of Illustration by a Thousand Prompts.

AI Re-Imagines original cartoons

From The Daily Cartoonist.

It seems a fairly new YouTube uploader is taking cartoonists’ original cartoons, “re-imagining” (read: swiping) them through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and then passing them off as their own.

Original Jack Ohman cartoon

The "phony" in Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s ad

From The Guardian.

A ‘poorly considered’ use of AI has resulted in a perplexing number of fingers – and a large amount of mockery.

The couple’s tangled fingers are both too large and too many; there’s a strange sheen making them look more like wax dolls; and then there’s the clothes: she in a tulle gown encrusted with jewels, he in a tuxedo – and, simultaneously, a tulle gown encrusted with jewels. 

Also: she has a large cube on her lap.

It was apparently created by someone who has never seen an orchestra play, and imagines it as rows of violinists seated in the audience, many playing with three hands or one hand or no hands at all.

Montreal Cartoon Art Festival and AI

From the FBDM's Facebook page.

Portrait: Boum

In 2023, 290 comics creators were present at our festival. It goes without saying that without their presence, our celebration of comics would not be the same.

The advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are impressive, but there is currently a lack of supervision and regulations to protect creators. The situation worries many, and understandably so. 

This is why MCAF wishes to position itself today as an event that focuses on art made by humans. 

We're not at all opposed to tools that can lighten artists' workloads, but art generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligence will not be considered for the Bédélys Awards, nor allowed for sale at the Festival. 

This is our way of showing our support for the comics creators. 

- Mélanie La Roche, Executive Director

AI generated images

From Cartoonists Rights Network International Executive Director Terry Anderson.

Cartoon by Keyvan Varesi

Cartoonists are pushing back against so-called "a.i." with the class action lawsuit against DeviantArt, Midjourney and Stability AI now underway in the USA and a similar effort still being crowdfunded in Italy.