DC Comics won’t support generative AI: ‘Not now, not ever’

Jim Lee, president and publisher of DC Comics, said the company “will not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork,” assuring fans that its future will remain rooted in human creativity. “Not now, not ever, as long as (senior vice president, general manager) Anne DeBies and I are in charge.” He told me during his session At New York Comic Con on Wednesday, he likened concerns about artificial intelligence taking over future creative industries to the fear of the Millennium bug and the hype around NFTs.

“People have an instinctive reaction to what appears authentic,” he told me. “We are repulsed by what appears fake. This is why human creativity matters.” “AI does not dream, does not feel, or makes art, it collects it.”

While DC has a long-standing policy requiring all artwork to be original and authentically produced by artists, the I faced the company Several scandals About the suspected use of generative artificial intelligence in various comic book covers. A backlash from people who oppose the technology over concerns that it will displace the works of writers and artists has pressured DC to replace the suspected covers, and likely contributed to the company taking a tougher stance against the use of generative AI in future projects.

“Anyone can draw a cape. Anyone can write a hero. This has been around since comics have been around. It’s called fanfiction, and there’s nothing wrong with fanfiction,” Lee said. “But Superman only feels right when he’s in the DC Universe. Our world, our mythology. This is what will last. This is what will carry us into the next century.”