A U.S.-based publisher came under fire this week after announcing it was moving forward with a book cover that may contain an image created with artificial intelligence, despite opposition from authors, readers, and illustrators.
(For insights on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, business and policy, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today’s Cache.)
Tor Books, an imprint of the Tor Publishing Group which publishes works of fantasy and science fiction, said it did not know that an image it had licensed for an upcoming novel “may have been created by AI.”
The cover of ‘Fractal Noise’ by Christopher Paolini shows an abstract astronaut-like figure on a red planet, approaching an abyss. On Friday, Tor Books said it was still going ahead with the cover, citing “production constraints.”
Some creators and readers expressed dismay at the publisher continuing to use the controversial image and questioned whether it could support creators while using art made by AI.
Author Xiran Jay Zhao slammed Tor’s response and said it was setting a “dangerous precedent.”
Paolini is the bestselling author of the young adult fantasy novel ‘Eragon’ and its series. He defended the choice of cover for ‘Fractal Noise’ but claimed that as an artist himself, he supported other artists by commissioning them.
“The problem is, AI art is getting so advanced, I don’t think that stock image companies are going to be able to identify most of it. Not sure how they’re going to address the issue. My gut feeling is AI will become an integral part of many artists’ process, much like Photoshop,” Paolini tweeted on Friday.
As large language models, AI-based art generators, and even AI-powered chat tools become easy to use for free, critics have pointed out that many models were trained on datasets that included copyrighted art work without paying the creators. Artists such as Greg Rutkowksi and Makoto Shinkai are common prompts across several AI-based text-to-art generators.
Creators in the publishing industry are also worried that companies using AI-based media will deprive human writers and artists of employment.
