Is AI a threat or a tool? We asked 6 renowned artists

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You've read it many a time in the past couple of years: click-baity articles that begin with something along the lines of "we've asked AI about blah blah and you wouldn't believe the results". Or "what if" features based on AI-generated pictures that transform something well-known into something radically different and shocking after a couple of clicks. Asking AI has become easy, perhaps too easy; an everyday thing for a lot of people. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes informative, and other times it spreads misinformation or inaccurate facts.

Another form of controversy revolves around generative AI, where both artists and aficionados can easily create 2D, 3D, and even video images. In this regard, and similar to what happened with scriptwriters and voice actors, traditional hand-crafting artists have raised their voices against generative AI models that are dubiously inspired or blatantly copy the work of others. But can more respectful and independent models serve as tools for modern artists seeking more efficiency, just as computers did before them?

With these two points in mind, we attended the latest Comicon in Napoli in the spring, and as we look back at the event and reflect on some of our earlier coverage at Gamereactor in the summertime, we've collected views about artificial intelligence from several renowned artists below. So, no, we have not asked AI - we've asked artists, and here are their voices.

(You can play their respective full interviews, with added local subtitles, in the embedded videos)

The Boys' Darick Robertson: "AI is never going to miss their mom who died of cancer"

First, we discussed it with Darick Robertson, co-creator of The Boys and Transmetropolitan, who gave a less clear point of view, looking at the different applications that Artificial Intelligence can have in the human sphere.

"The funniest thing AI has said to me is something like, 'I really like this interesting connection we're having' and I'm like, 'Oh yeah?' AI is like when the internet or television came along, everyone said it was going to be the end. None of us know it, but AI does amazing things that will help humanity, but it's not sexy, people don't want to hear about it. But for example, there's a set of robots in Seattle that they put to work that can identify within a millisecond what kind of plastic is coming down a giant conveyor belt and put it and separate it into proper recycling. And another thing is that they can run genomes as a way of cancer research".

"Without that buffer [of human experience], I think it's going to be a long time before AI can really make art on its own that is nothing more than visually pleasing"

"But artwork... "It always looks crappy right now. Will it always? I don't know. But AI in and of itself, a lot of it is people trying to use that tool to get their artwork out in a way they can't physically do. Is that good or bad? I don't know."

"But what I also understand is that AI in and of itself is borrowing from existing things. And AI is never going to understand what it's like to have its heart broken. AI is never going to have to bury a pet. AI is never going to miss their mom who died of cancer a year ago. These things are human experience. And those human experiences make their way into artwork. And that artwork feeds the AI. So without that buffer, I think it's going to be a long time before AI can really make art on its own that is nothing more than visually pleasing."

RanXerox's Tanino Liberatore: "AI removes the pleasure from making art"

The veteran artist, who was acknowledged as "Magister" of the Comicon in its 25th Anniversary, has always been intrigued about new ways for art and even new tech. After all, he was one of the precursors to the whole cyberpunk genre.

"I'm very curious as an artist. I don't accept the fact that I probably will try it [AI], but it's different from passing from the analogue to the digital, because I'm still the artist in that case. Whereas with the AI, I'm not really sure. I give the orders, but I don't know what moves the intelligence to create".

"So I'm a little bit afraid, but I know that it's the future, so we will see. Actually, I'm from a generation where there was nothing, and then there was everything. So I feel a little bit like a dinosaur, because I lived all these changes, but I don't know how it's going to be, so I don't know how to use them".

"The pleasure is removed", though, he also added in Italian.

Raptor's Dave McKean: "Art is about human empathy and AI has none"

Next, we spoke with Dave McKean, known for his covers and graphic novels, such as Raptor: A Sokoi Graphic Novel. His opinion was similar to that provided by Darick Robertson, but with some nuances, for example, his first reaction.

"I was introduced to machine learning and artificial intelligence imagery a couple of years ago. I was, like many people, confused about it. I did some research and spent a day curled up on the floor of my study thinking that my life was over." His response was to write a book, Prompt, Conversations with Artificial Intelligence".

He also reflected on the role of AI as follows:

"It's a mistake to call it a tool, it's a whole. The scientific capabilities of AI will be extraordinary. I have come to the conclusion that it has no place in our creative lives. Art is about human empathy and this has none."

Harry Potter's Thomas Taylor: "AI is becoming more and more of a monster - authenticity comes through human endeavour

Another interesting angle comes from Malamander's Thomas Taylor who, like other artists as of late, is actually trying to move away not just from AI, but also from digital means.

"I have moved over largely to traditional, largely to digital media, but I still, I can still paint. I grew up in the 90s as an art student. So I know and I have all that background and I'm beginning to want to go back to that a little bit because AI is becoming more and more of a monster. And so I think being able to paint and draw on paper with a real pencil is actually an advantage. So this search for authenticity is becoming more and more interesting to me. And I'm turning a little bit away from digital again, I think".

Asked about stealing styles and our tool versus threat comparison, he went on:

"Yeah, I think it feels like a threat at the moment. That's the problem. It feels like it's taking what we've done already and it's copying and pasting and smudging and making it look like something new. But it's not really something new. It's something that's been taken and changed slightly. And I think more and more people recognise authenticity as important. And authenticity is something that you get through human endeavour and through searching yourself with a pencil, trying to capture something, trying to draw and paint the real world".

"AI cannot pick up a pencil and make a mark on paper. And so for me, that seems to be a way to go. But at the same time, it is a useful tool. It can be useful for arranging ideas and for focusing things. So, you know, it's a balance. We have to find a balance."

Ultramega's James Harren: "Art is about the sweat and the human spirit you put into creating it"

Harren, who had worked with Marvel and DC, and is also known from his own Rumble and Ultramega, shared the idea of humanity as premise for art, and showed himself immediately offended by the tech. However, it all came with his own personal background, where one thing is a digital tool and a much different thing is generative AI:

"You know, I'm not the right guy to ask because I had a flip phone until 2022. I'm not an early adopter of technology. I use Photoshop. I like my iPad for sketching sometimes, but I very much like drawing on paper. I don't foresee myself ever using [AI]. There's a lot of negativity around it. I don't want to add more negativity to the world, but yeah, I'm offended by AI art. I don't really like what it looks like. For me, the art is human and it's about the process. It's about the sweat and the human spirit that you put into creating it. My hope is that people like art made by the human hand."

We Only Find Them When They're Dead's Simone di Meo: "AI is like an illegal thing"

Finally we also spoke to Simone di Meo, artist of We Only Find Them When They're Dead, among other works with Marvel and Disney, who gave us his take on the situation, at the same time bringing up the matter of legal rights and paying bills.

"For me, right now, it's hard to have a good reply for this. But just because the AI don't respect the rights of the artist. And for me, I can pay my bills with the rights. So it's hard to understand something that don't respect my work and don't respect the work of a lot of artists. Because right now, AI is just like randomised, like things from other artists and put all together. So it's for sure the future for a lot of different things. Maybe not for comic book. Maybe not for like the human intelligence about tell some stories in some way. But right now, for me, it's like something illegal".

It seems most artists agree on the current results generative AI produces and share similar concerns about human intention and ownership. Still, some were open to seeing it evolve in the art world over time, while its potential breakthroughs in fields like science and research are becoming increasingly clear and less controversial.