Procreate comes out swinging against AI

Digital art companies left, right and centre having been outlining their approach to AI in recent months – and drawing mixed responses from the creative community. While Adobe claimed it wanted to “do the right thing” when it came to the ethics of AI, the company has managed to put artists’ noses out of joint a few times this year. But we’re not seeing many creatives complaining about Procreate’s ballsy new statement on the subject.

Indeed, the team behind one of the best drawing apps for iPad has come right out and said ‘no’ to AI. “We’re never going there. Creativity is made, not generated,” declared Procreate today. And it seems the app’s users agree.

In the full statement on the Procreate website, titled ‘AI is not our future,” the team makes its stance clear. “Generative AI is ripping the humanity out of things. Built on a foundation of theft, the technology is steering us toward a barren future. We think machine learning is a compelling technology with a lot of merit, but the path generative AI is on is wrong for us.”

“We’re here for the humans,” Procreate adds. “We’re not chasing a technology that is a moral threat to our greatest jewel: human creativity. In this technological rush, this might make us an exception or seem at risk of being left behind. But we see this road less travelled as the more exciting and fruitful one for our community.” 

And in an even stronger video statement (below), Procreate’s CEO James goes one further, announcing, “I really f*cking hate generative AI.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, this approach is proving a hit with digital artist on Twitter (sorry, X). 

In a time when digital art software companies are embracing AI across the board, it’s refreshing to see such a prominent brand draw such a clear line in the sand. It’ll be interesting to see whether others decide to follow suit – and indeed where the next few years of generative AI takes us, particularly if recent rumours of self-implosion are to be believed.