AI finds a new adversary in Procreate CEO

In a stripped-down-style video usually reserved for an actor publically atoning for cheating, Cuda tore into his sector’s implementation of AI and vowed to never get aboard the train. 

Noting he doesn’t often get in front of the camera, Cuda explained after getting peppered with questions about AI, he wanted to set the record straight. “I don’t like what’s happening in the industry and I don’t like what it’s doing to artists,” he said. 

The post, captioned “we’re never going there. Creativity is made, not generated,” linked to Procreate’s larger statement regarding its stance on not using generative AI.

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

His comments come amidst a larger shifting of tides on AI. Layoffs in the name of said invention further stoked anxiety about the product stirring obsoletism. As tech’s darling grows up, many start to fear AI’s terrible twos as a long-lasting sign of a product they don’t want to buy into.

Trust in AI companies has decreased from 61% to 53% over the past five years, per Edeleman data shared with Axios. Being closer to Silicon Valley has left a sharper sting, as trust steeply declined from 50% to 35% in the U.S. alone. Even if the public is starting to scramble for a pumping of the brakes, tech and finance aren’t over their dream just yet. Just last month, investors poured a whopping $27.1 billion into AI, keeping the engines running even if the hype is dying.

Creatives have found themselves positioned at the forefront of opposition. Unionized writers and actors went on strike last summer in part to push back against the impact of generative AI on their jobs, and 200 famed musicians petitioned against the ethical ramifications of unmitigated AI implementation. 

Art that centers the artist and their integrity is part of Procreates’ manifesto against AI. “We are not going to be introducing any generative AI into our products, our products are always designed and developed with the idea that a human will be creating something,” said Cuda.

The need to preserve human creativity, job stability, and fair pay all come up as arguments for putting guardrails on AI. Not to mention, people have simply soured on AI after seeing it flop like an off-putting raisin in the sun. 

Even after much fanfare and money was funneled into generative AI, the product is still shown to fail to answer certain questions and hallucinate. Perhaps seeing enough memes of Elon Musk and Donald Trump dancing together has put the final nail in the coffin, as AI is deemed what the internet hates the most—cringe.

Either way, Procreate seems to be betting on its anti-AI horse. “We don’t know exactly where this story’s gonna go or how it ends but we believe that we’re on the right path supporting human creativity,” said Cuda.