Procreate’s anti-AI pledge attracts praise from digital creatives

Procreate’s anti-AI pledge attracts praise from digital creatives

Procreate CEO James Cuda has made his distaste for generative AI known. | Image: Procreate

Many Procreate users can breathe a sigh of relief now that the popular iPad illustration app has taken a definitive stance against generative AI. “We’re not going to be introducing any generative AI into our products,” Procreate CEO James Cuda said in a video posted to X. “I don’t like what’s happening to the industry, and I don’t like what it’s doing to artists.”

The creative community’s ire toward generative AI is driven by two main concerns: that AI models have been trained on their content without consent or compensation, and that widespread adoption of the technology will greatly reduce employment opportunities. Those concerns have driven some digital illustrators to seek out alternative solutions to apps that integrate generative AI tools, such as Adobe Photoshop.

We’re never going there. Creativity is made, not generated.
You can read more at https://t.co/9Fgh460KVu ✨ #procreate #noaiart pic.twitter.com/AnLVPgWzl3

— Procreate (@Procreate) August 18, 2024

“Generative AI is ripping the humanity out of things. Built on a foundation of theft, the technology is steering us toward a barren future,” Procreate said on the new AI section of its website. “We think machine learning is a compelling technology with a lot of merit, but the path generative AI is on is wrong for us.”

The announcement has already attracted widespread praise from creatives online who are discontent with how other companies have handled the increasing deluge of generative AI tools. Clip Studio Paint, a rival illustration app, scrapped plans to introduce image-generation features after the announcement was condemned by its user base. Other companies like drawing tablet maker Wacom and Magic: The Gathering-owner Wizards of the Coast have also issued apologies for (unintentionally) using AI-generated assets in their products following similar community reactions.

Even Adobe, which attempted a more “ethical” approach to building generative AI tools — having repeatedly said that its own Firefly models are trained on content that’s licensed or out of copyright — has been slammed by those who feel the company has turned its back on independent artists and creators. Adobe further clarified that it doesn’t train AI on user content in June following intense backlash over a terms of service agreement update, but other unfavorable changes introduced over the years have given it an unshakable reputation as a company that creators love to hate.

Procreate is extremely well received by comparison. The company has stuck to a $12.99 one-time purchase model instead of moving to a rolling subscription like Adobe and Clip Studio Paint did, and has expanded into offering products for animation and (eventually) desktop users. Making such a firm pledge against introducing generative AI is likely just the icing on the cake for creatives who feel alternative options are dwindling.

Cuda said “We don’t exactly know where this story’s gonna go, or how it ends, but we believe that we’re on the right path to supporting human creativity.”