Magic: The Gathering publisher admits to using AI art after banning AI art

Magic: The Gathering's publisher initially insisted that the marketing image was man-made

• by
  
  Ollie Welsh
  

• on January 8, 2024 at 9:40 am

Magic: Gathering Publisher Wizards of the Coast has been forced to admit that it posted a marketing image for the game featuring “some AI components”, despite an initial insistence that the art was “created by humans, not AI”. Wizards of the Coast banned the use of AI artwork in its products in 2023, after AI-generated artwork appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook and caused protests.

The photo, which has since been deleted, was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by an administrator Magic: Gathering Account on January 4th. Five were shown Charm Cards placed on a valve-operated device next to a pressure gauge, in a laboratory environment filled with copper and wood. “It's positively shocking how good these lands look in the old frame,” the post read.

Many fans jumped on it point out Elements in the image that bear the hallmarks of generative AI – in particular, the difficulty of displaying fine details in a consistent way (around groups of cables, for example, or on the dial of a strain gauge). But no Charm The account initially denied the claims.

“We understand the confusion fans are feeling due to the style being different from the card art, but we stand by our previous statement,” the publisher replied in another since-deleted post. “This art was created by humans, not artificial intelligence.”

But a few days later, Wizards of the Coast admitted they were wrong.

“Well, we made a mistake earlier when we said the marketing image we posted was not created using AI,” the Magic account said in a message. Statement sent to X On January 7th. “As our diligent community has pointed out, it appears that some of the AI ​​components now featured in industry standard tools like Photoshop have crept into our marketing design, even if a human does the work to create the overall image.”

The publisher continued: “Although the artwork came from a vendor, it is our responsibility to ensure that we deliver on our promise to support the amazing human creativity that makes Charm great. We've already made it clear that we're asking artists, writers, and creatives to contribute Charm TCG refrains from using artificial intelligence tools to create the final results Charm products. “We're now evaluating how we work with vendors on creatives that go beyond our products — like these marketing images — to make sure we're living up to those values.”

In a separate statement published on the same day on Charm On its website, Wizards said it wants to “get better at understanding if and how AI is used in the creative process.” “We can't promise to be perfect in such a rapidly evolving space, especially with generative AI becoming a standard in tools like Photoshop, but our goal is to always stand by man-made art and artists,” the company added. “.

The incident attracted a lot of attention because Wizards of the Coast – a major employer of artists and illustrators, especially in the case of… Charm Card Art – He has been called out repeatedly before for using generative AI art in his material, and has repeatedly distanced himself from the technology. After AI art was spotted in the D&D sourcebook Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants In August 2023, The witches said It was not aware that the artist used AI tools, and it will review its guidelines for artists “to clarify that artists should refrain from using AI-based art generation.”

Wizards then issued a more specific ban on AI art in December, after fans claimed to have discovered evidence of AI generation in promotional artwork for Charm A tie-in with Tomb Raider. “We're asking artists, writers and creatives to contribute Charm TCG refrains from using artificial intelligence tools to create the final results Charm Products,” she said at the time.

Some artists who work for the publisher have shown frustration with its repeated failure to limit the use of artificial intelligence in image creation. long term Charm Artist Dave Rapoza publicly parted ways with the company after its initial denial of the use of artificial intelligence. “So, you faggot, you're done working with the witches of the coast – you can't say you're against this and then blatantly use AI to promote your products and send emails. Goodbye, all of you!” he said in a tweet.

But the incident — and especially the apparent confusion at Wizards of the Coast over whether artificial intelligence was used in creating the image — illustrates how difficult it is for companies that work with large numbers of independent artists to stay on top of this. This is a problem, as AI technical tools become more widespread than ever before.

Read more