Generative artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly and already impacting the book and comic industry. From threats of job displacement through to opportunities to use AI as an efficient tool, we’ll canvass the issues relevant to illustrators. 

Are image generators like DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion useful tools or threats? How can you use AI to streamline your work practices? And should you use Generative AI at all if it has been built on the unlicensed and unremunerated copyright works of artists? 

In this thought-provoking session, hear from author/illustrator Anna McGregor, graphic novelist Justin Randall, and University of Melbourne Technical Advisor Cormac Mercer, who will explore the ethical ramifications of AI systems, the potential effects of the technology on the publishing industry, the implications for illustrators, and the risks generative AI poses to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), including concerns about fake indigenous art.

Chaired by ASA CEO Olivia Lanchester, the panel will address: 

1. Opportunities: How can illustrators use AI tools in their creative practice? We’ll ask our panel what opportunities they see in AI assisting illustrators with concepting work, and what skills an artist will need to survive the AI revolution.
2. Threats: Will text-to-image generators displace creative jobs, dilute the market with mediocre content, and homogenise cultural output? Will mimicry be a challenge to signature styles and how will roles in comics, graphic novels, book illustration and cover design be affected?
3. Ethical Considerations: What tasks are we comfortable outsourcing to AI and what should stay under human control? We’ll explore how generative AI systems are trained on existing copyright-protected works in opaque circumstances, and what creators around the world are doing about it. We will discuss who is the creative/artist in AI generated art and if it can be submitted into awards.

There will be a Q&A session where attendees may ask questions and share their thoughts on this rapidly evolving topic. We are keen to encourage an interactive discussion. 

If you’re an illustrator and want to get up to speed on the issues raised by AI, don’t miss this panel discussion.