What comic book universe has promised never to use GenAI?

Generative AI has had a less-than-stellar reception among the arts, with many speaking out against its use both to create art and be trained on the work of human creators. If you’re a fan of DC Comics, though, you don’t have to worry, at least as long as the current top brass stays in charge.

DC Comics President Jim Lee recently reassured fans at New York Comic Con that the company does not and will never use GenAI on his watch. “History has a way of humbling predictions. The future rarely turns out the way the headlines warn us it will. But let me make one prediction I know I can stand by today: DC Comics will not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork — not now, not ever, as long as [Senior Vice President and General Manager] Anne De Pies and I are in charge,” he said.

Lee expanded upon his reasoning, stating that part of the beauty of comics comes from the human hand in a way that a computer can’t replicate. “When I draw, I make mistakes. A lot of them. But that’s the point. The smudge, the rough lines, the hesitation — that’s me in the work. That’s my journey. That’s what makes it come alive. ... AI doesn’t dream. It doesn’t feel. It doesn’t make art. It aggregates it.”