LogIn"It's the imperfect mind, the creative risk, the hand-drawn gesture that no algorithm can replicate."
DFree
Companies from all kinds of fields are quickly adopting AI in its many forms, but there is one big studio you don't have to worry about: Jim Lee, the President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics, announced that the company "will not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork. Not now, not ever as long as I am in charge."
Speaking at New York Comic Con (transcribed by Bleeding Cool), he said that what and his team does and why "is rooted in our humanity."
"It's that fragile, beautiful connection between imagination and emotion that fuels our media, the stuff that makes our universe come alive. It's the imperfect mind, the creative risk, the hand-drawn gesture that no algorithm can replicate. And when I draw, I make mistakes, a lot of them. But that's the point. The smudge, the rough line, the hesitation. That's me in the work. That's my journey. That's what makes it come alive. It's the product of true effort, of inspiration, and perspiration."
Lee is sure that fans know and feel it. They sense when something was made with care, "when it cost the artist time, energy, heart, and effort."
"People have an instinctive reaction to what feels authentic. We recoil from what feels fake. That's why human creativity matters. AI doesn't dream. It doesn't feel. It doesn't make art. It aggregates it. Our job as creators, as storytellers, and as publishers is to make people feel something real. That's why we create, and that's why we're still here."
Lee is not alone in thinking this. Larian Studios' publishing lead Michael Douse has recently reacted to Elon Musk's promise to "release a great AI-generated game before the end of next year," saying that the industry doesn't need "another cash grab," it needs a human touch: "Those who will succeed are those who are people building something for people."
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