The use of work produced through generative so-called “artificial intelligence” machine learning programs (meaning that a computer/machine has learned information, such as the past work and art style of other artists, and descriptions of characters and images, and then generated a new image using that learned knowledge) remains a hot button issue throughout the creative world, whether it be TV and films (where the use of A.I. was a major issue during the recent actor and writer strikes in Hollywood) or comic books (where a number of artists have been accused in recent months of using these generative art programs to produce work for comic books). Just recently, Etsy revealed its position on A.I. art, and now Dark Horse Comics, home to Hellboy and many other acclaimed comic book series, has come out roundly against the practice.

Dark Horse’ statement on the topic of A.I. art notes that it is contractually forbidden from being used by its comic book creators on Dark Horse comic book projects, explaining, “Dark Horse is committed to supporting human creative professionals with our business” (emphasis added).

What was Dark Horse’s full statement on A.I. art?

Dark Horse released it statement on the company’s Facebook account:

To respond to what is becoming a frequently-asked question, a note from Dark Horse regarding AI-generated material:

Dark Horse Comics was originally founded to establish an ideal publishing atmosphere for creative professionals and maintains this focus on supporting independent creators to this day. As such, Dark Horse does not support the use of AI-generated material in the works that we publish. Our contracts include language stating that the creator agrees that the work will not consist of any material generated by computer Artificial Intelligence programs. Dark Horse is committed to supporting human creative professionals with our business.

What are the legal challenges for a company like Dark Horse with regards to A.I. art?

The United States Copyright Office has made it stance clear on A.I. art from when a comic book, Zarya of the Dawn, was produced by A.I. art (using the generation A.I. art program, Midjourney, for the artwork) was denied a copyright, “Rather than a tool that [Zarya writer] Ms. Kashtanova controlled and guided to reach her desired image, Midjourney [the A.I. art generator Kashtanova used] generates images in an unpredictable way. Accordingly, Midjourney users are not the ‘authors’ for copyright purposes of the images the technology generates,” and that “[b]ecause of the significant distance between what a user may direct Midjourney to create and the visual material Midjourney actually produces, Midjourney users lack sufficient control over generated images to be treated as the ‘master mind’ behind them.”

So if A.I. art is not copyrightable, then that is a major legal liability for comic book companies, so even if the companies’ ethical beliefs don’t want them working with A.I. art, it is also a major legal issue.

Source: Dark Horse via Facebook