AI-generated art is getting a lot of hate from anime conventions and the fandom

Examples of something created by artificial intelligence
Examples of something created by artificial intelligence (Image via Waifu Labs)

For those who don't know, AI-generated art is notoriously controversial within many communities, including anime-related ones. The most notable reason is actually quite simple. Using artificial intelligence to create art is extremely easy, meaning that there is virtually no skill in creating it.

Worst of all, some people even use it to steal other people's artwork and claim it as their own. AI-generated art technology will continue to improve in the future, and the ethics behind this topic are incredibly complex right now.

Let's look at some people's reactions to this divisive topic.


Why some anime fans and conventions hate AI-generated art

A noteworthy anime convention, known as Animé Los Angeles has decided to forbid AI-generated art from appearing in their:

  • Promotional material
  • Exhibit Hall
  • Artist Alley

The above tweet is a hardline stance against people who rely on artificial intelligence to create their artwork. It even references how many of these pieces are based on stolen works, which is a topic similar to plagiarism.

This stance against allowing artificial intelligence to create drawings isn't limited to just Animé Los Angeles. Other anime conventions are also starting to crack down against it, like the one shown in the above tweet.

In this case, it's another example of a community not supporting plagiarism, which is a rampant problem when artificial intelligence has to create something based on pre-existing work.

Some people even want larger anime conventions to ban any featuring of these artworks in the future. The above tweet is less about the plagiarism aspect and more about the lack of skill involved in having software create drawings for you.

Generally speaking, reactions to AI-generated art tend to be negative online. There is some positive feedback, but it's usually relegated to lewd content or creating OCs, which isn't relevant to this topic.


Fan reactions to AI-generated art

One of the most infamous examples of AI-generated art being used to plagiarize a person's work can be seen in the above tweet. One talented artist known as @haruno_intro was working on a beautiful picture of Genshin Impact's Raiden Shogun.

Then another person used artificial intelligence to scan @haruno_intro's work to finish it before the original artist could finish their work. This led to the thief claiming that it was their artwork the whole time, which obviously did not sit well with the Genshin Impact community, let alone most fan artists.

There is still a long way to go before AI-generated artwork looks more original and less generic. Until then, people should get used to many anime drawings having a similar aesthetic, especially when uncreative users use them.

It is worth noting that some people do legitimately try to sell artwork created by artificial intelligence. The art industry is already oversaturated with plenty of talented people, so now they have to compete with somebody who has some software to make hundreds of drawings for them.

Hence, it also makes sense why some anime fans hate seeing those kinds of works at conventions and want them banned beyond the fact that they plagiarize pre-existing art.

At the very least, these types of drawings take up space at booths, with some of them being infamously passionless to boot.