Procreate’s anti-AI stance is a welcome relief for artists

The popular illustration and animation app for iPad proudly proclaims itself to be AI-free.

On Sunday, Procreate posted a video of CEO James Cuda on X saying that the app has no plans to introduce generative AI into its products.

“I really don’t like generative AI, I don’t like what’s going on in the industry and how it’s impacting artists,” Cuda said. “I don’t know exactly where this story is going or how it’s going to end, but I believe we’re on the right path to support human creativity.”

The tweet may have been deleted

A page on Procreate’s website explaining the app’s decision states that generative AI will not be used, users’ work will not be accessible, and user activity will not be tracked by Procreate. The inference here is that Procreate will not use artists’ work to train and implement its generative AI tools, unlike other creative tools that do exactly that. Unlike Cuda, which was not mincing words, Procreate believes there is a place for generative AI, but not in the creative sector: “We believe machine learning is a compelling technology with many benefits, but the path generative AI is heading down is the wrong one for us.”

Procreate’s anti-AI stance reflects a growing sentiment in the artist community that generative AI devalues ​​human-created art. Companies like Adobe and Canva have jumped on the AI ​​bandwagon by offering generative AI tools for generating and editing multimedia. Not only do these tools threaten to take away jobs in creative industries, but they are also trained on human-created art, sometimes without credit or consent. The implementation of generative AI capabilities in creative tools has raised fears and distrust among creators who feel their livelihoods are being threatened by the tools they rely on.

Recently, a very insensitive Apple ad that literally packed artist tools into a sleek iPad Pro packed with AI-powered creative tools all but confirmed users’ skepticism about the technology. “The underlying message was heard loud and clear,” wrote Mashable’s Mike Pearl. “Companies don’t need to pretend they respect their customers — they just need to get them to spend their money.”

A lot has changed in the year since many generative AI tools were made available to the general public: Wall Street demand for AI investments has waned, and consumer reaction to using generative AI for creative tasks like writing fan letters to Olympic athletes has not been as positive as expected.

Last year, Procreate’s announcement would have been considered business suicide. Today, it may be the key to customer loyalty. Cuda’s post, which has more than 60,000 likes, is flooded with support and gratitude, even as some commenters call it an occasional shortsighted move. “I use the software occasionally, but I’m going to enjoy it a lot more from now on,” said one X user.

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“I’m so glad I stuck with the app. I hope they don’t sell it to the bigwigs who don’t care how much money they make,” commented another user. “In a world where there are so many companies putting AI into every product, this is a really good thing,” agreed another X user.

The tweet may have been deleted