AI Art in TTRPGs: the Debate Rages On.

Wizards of the Coast Magic: the Gathering ad on Twitter draws fire with AI art.

Wizards of the Coast, producers of Dungeons & Dragons as well as Magic: the Gathering, can’t just go an entire week into 2024 without screwing up. I’m going to overlook 2023 for the most part, but they’re starting the new year off on a sour note. A January 4 post for M:tG featuring five cards for the upcoming Ravnica set featured a steampunk background that Internet users quickly pointed out had been generated by Artificial Intelligence.

WotC initially emphatically denied any AI art was used in the ad, but changed their tune rapidly once artists and fans protested vehemently because the company went back on their AI art policy. Long time M:tG artists abandoned WotC over this ad. When the dust settled, WotC apologized and admitted that AI had indeed been used to create the background image, but then quickly blamed it on a third party vendor.

YouTuber Taron “Indestructoboy” Pounds recently caused a major stir in the #ttrpgcommunity and #dndcommunity when he attempted to call WotC out on an ad for the upcoming 2024 D&D Player’s Handbook. WotC got to put a rare one in their win column when the artist for the PHB art showed proof that it was indeed drawn by a human.

Following the Bigby’s Glory of the Giants AI Art scandal of 2023, WotC announced a policy that prohibits the use of AI art and writing in the creation of D&D or M:tG. Yet pieces of art that seem to have slipped by the various editors and art directors continue to pop up. It’s no wonder the fan base is getting jumpy about such things.

Unfortunately, we may be looking at the dystopian Cyberpunk future today.

I think it’s going to get to a point where AI art and (as much as it disgusts me to say it,) writing is going to become almost indistinguishable from that of humans. AI is penetrating multiple creative industries at a prolific rate. AI writing “assistants” are even offered on basic programs such as Microsoft Word and WordPress, which I use to build this site. (MSWord and WordPress, not the AI thing.) I think it is going to become more difficult to spot the fakes as time goes on.

I remember Cyberpunk (2013) and Cyberpunk 2020 RPG where AI was just another facet of society in those settings. R. Talsorian Games was onto something back then. The Terminator and Matrix film franchises ran a different, far more grim way with it. I think the real world is going to be a weird mix of the different realities presented and we’re seeing the start of it in our beloved gaming industries.

The temptation is real, especially for smaller creators.

I’ll be the first to admit as someone whose art talent leaves a lot to be desired, AI art can look pretty appealing. Yes, it’s currently wrong by modern ethical standards and no one would ever want to sell a book with AI art or writing in it. I would rather keep one of the only activities that keeps me going.

I’ve experimented a little with AI art for my own amusement, though. It comes up with results that are interesting, but far from perfect. Then again, I’m using free trials of various art apps. I hear the paid version of Midjourney puts out some pretty impressive stuff. I follow some AI art accounts on Threads and elsewhere that put out some interesting pieces that would never pass for human generated art.

Larger corporations such as Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast can afford to pay a team of artists, art directors, editors, and layout designers to do the work. Small, one man operations such as mine can’t afford such luxuries. Both entities, large and small, are currently bound by the same ethical guidelines and should adhere to them.

DriveThruRPG and Kickstarter have strict No AI policies in place. DMsGuild was flooded early on with AI submissions with Internet bot lords looking to turn a quick buck. Amazon is still plagued with such bots. It’s like having rooms full of monkeys banging away on typewriters for 12 hours per day hoping one of them will turn out Hemmingway.

This whole battle reminds me of the arguments we were having 20+ years ago about using Photoshop and similar programs to edit news photos. Now it’s just another tool in the industry. We barely think about it. Will AI become the next tool?

When it comes to creative works, where verisimilitude isn’t as much of a concern, is AI a viable tool already? So far we’re saying “no.” However, the art industry seems to be loosening its grip on this ethic more every day now. If we hadn’t already been on a witch hunt for WotC AI art, would the M:tG ad have gone unnoticed?

WotC says they stand by human artists, but little AI slip-ups keep happening.

I think WotC’s policies are only effective until the next time they get caught. Yes, we should be supporting human artists as much as freaking possible. That has never changed. People need to make money in order to eat and pay bills. Computers don’t have bills or empty stomachs.

I can’t blame artists for leaving WotC. Some of them are honest, hardworking people who genuinely love fantasy art, games, and the fandom. Others are just looking to turn a quick buck working for a large, greasy corporation such as Hasbro.

The large corporation already knows it can cut costs by cutting corners. This is nothing new in any industry. I think it’s only a matter of time before more and more AI art is used to create or enhance the art in various fantasy genre products. D&D and M:tG are just going to be casualties of that battle. I also think the lines between AI generated and AI enhanced human art are going to blur more every day.

Stepping away from gaming for just a second.

At what point is an AI separate from a sentient being? This isn’t science fiction anymore. Are AIs born with a soul? Are they going to become so good at what humans do as to be indistinguishable from us?

I think we should be using AI to solve problems we don’t have solutions for such as climate change or landfills being overstuffed. Maybe a particularly creative AI can come up with alternative fuel sources without wiping out the human race in the process.

Much like the Battlestar Galactica fiction suggested, maybe we should be using AI and robots for tasks too dangerous or complicated for regular humans. Why not have them performing operations deep underwater or in space where sending humans is less practical/safe?

The point is, AI should be developed with the goal of freeing humankind to do more creative endeavors such as art and writing. Sure, AI can write or create art, but why waste that kind of talent when it could be helping us move forward as a society/culture? Why not let humans worry about the stuff that truly requires a soul/spirit?