With the use of generative AI on the rise, artists have been speaking out more than ever about the ramifications of removing or replacing real human creatives with machines. While there is a vocal group that disagrees with this sentiment, the debates surrounding generative AI and art have been fierce online, and some mangaka have finally decided to publicly weigh in on the discussion. Best known for creating the shonen epic JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Hirohiko Araki is a legendary manga creator and artist known for blending his love for music, film, and other corners of pop culture into his work.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Araki recently spoke out about his deep-rooted concerns following the normalization of AI-generated artwork, referring to the practice as a “societal evil”. He went on to discuss how he recently came across an AI-generated piece of artwork that eerily replicated his own art style, saying that he was unnerved due to the machines ability to mimic his very precise and intentional brush strokes. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is well-known for telling deeply enriching stories with an eccentric flair that’s difficult to find in other works. Araki’s artistry is unmatched and unique – something that a machine may never truly mimic, but even just the thought of it getting close is enough to worry the manga legend.
[RELATED: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: New Photo of Hirohiko Araki Proves the Creator Never Ages]
Hirohiko Araki Fears a World Where AI Artists Are Given Their Own Series
In the full think piece written by Araki, he expresses that art reflects the time in which it’s produced. That being said, Araki fears that the future could be going in a direction of seeing the manga industry dominated by frauds. He believes that the type of “work” produced by AI-generated artwork will, regardless of what ends up happening, have a lasting impact on manga, as well as the way people read it. Aside from original works being produced by AI, Araki also voiced concerns about the blatant and inevitable copyright infringement caused by generative art. He refers to AI copyright infringement as the “villain” that artists must face in the modern age. Though he can’t think of a way to truly stop people from advancing the quality of work produced by AI, Araki does believe that there should be laws put in place to protect artists and their existing work from being taken to train these algorithms. Though bleak, the full piece is riddled with worry over the state of the industry, and out of a genuine concern for the safety of his fellow artists.
While there was a discussion in March 2024 about putting protections in place for Japanese manga artists in the wake of generative AI, as of writing, nothing has been formally decided upon by Japanese courts. The protection plan was originally proposed by Ken Akamatsu, a mangaka-turned-politician best known for his work on the classic harem series Love Hina who wishes to see fellow artists be protected from the concerns that Hirohiko Araki expressed in his recent post. While the road to securing protections from AI for artists is still unclear, it does seem as though its become a big enough concern to have the right eyes on the issue.