Not too long ago, the business of creativity was a uniquely human endeavor. However, with the arrival of generative AI, this has started to change. With how entrenched Artificial Intelligence has already become everywhere else in our lives (job automation, search engines, shopping recommendation engines, games, self-driving vehicles, etc.) this intrusion into the Arts was perhaps inevitable — even as various creative communities have tried their best to resist it.
However, I believe that the best response to this AI onslaught is not simply adopting an anti-technology stance, but rather to provide more education to fight disinformation and fear. The best way to defend the all-important human component of creativity is to understand AI’s accompanying threats and challenges — as well as to identify potential opportunities that this technology can bring.
Once we understand how it works and what is to change and how, we can be better prepared to use it where it can do the most good without stealing our work. Education also allows us to lobby for the right laws and regulations, and perhaps also for a future where the Arts include properly attributed and more nuanced human–machine collaborations (if we choose to allow it).
I was initially reluctant to be a part of Singapore Polytechnic’s AI Manga creating challenge, but I am glad that I did because I realized that it was an ideal platform to provide a comprehensive introduction on how to use AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney in creative work – particularly in ideation, editing and revision; as well as to discuss its merits, ethics, legality (How does it affect your copyright?) and dangers (potential plagiarism). It was also a great way to teach kids that automation by itself produces sub-par work (humans will always be important), and that the current buzz words like being “a master of prompt engineering” is useless in the long run because the of how fast technology changes (It’s much better to learn how to formulate problems instead.)
This workshop, held last 25 October, was designed to introduce generative AI and its applications in manga and comics creation. Participants delved into the world of AI-generated comics content (e.g. Cyberpunk Peach John by Rootport [Tokyo, Shinchosha; 2023] ) and learned how to leverage generative AI models to enhance their storytelling, character design, and visual elements. By the end of the course, students would have hopefully been armed with the knowledge and skills to use generative AI responsibly, and how not to feed the thieving devil that is automation from stealing their ideas.
AI has become such a contentious topic among artists and writers (- and with the way that late-stage capitalism has abused it so much for profit at our expense,, only rightly so). But at the end of the day, it’s really just another tool which we, as creatives, should at least be educated about in order to decide when and how to use it.
At the moment, there is too much hype, disinformation and fear. As creators in the 21st century, we should consider all the tools at our disposal to create our best work, while at the same time fighting for the rights of creative workers and the importance of the human component in Art for society’s common good.
Thank you again to Singapore Polytechnic’s Media, Arts & Design School, the River Valley Irregulars and the Difference Engine Comics publishing house for inviting me to be a part of this project.
The Infinite Library and Other Stories 