What now? The Legal and Ethical Use of AI in Book Cover Design
It’s come with a rush.
Between ChatGPT and image generators like Midjourney and DALL-E, we now find ourselves in a world unrecognizable from the one we called home just 12 months ago.
If, in early 2022, you gave me two minutes to write 500 words on the impact of Elton John on eyewear culture AND create an image of Joe Rogan sitting in broth, I probably would’ve struggled. I no longer do.
As amazing as all this is, it can feel a little uncomfortable, and more than a little disconcerting, to the creatives in the room. Many professionals – writers, artists, coders, designers and more – are working to understand where technology fits into their process, what to keep human and what to delegate to machine, or indeed whether to engage with the technology at all.
It’s something I’ve been grappling with myself. And I feel that there’s no better time than now to discuss how AI might affect book cover design, and how we’re planning for this future at Damonza.
AI art: new, amazing, divisive, and here to stay
I’m in the book cover design business. Not engaging with AI isn’t really an option: I have a business to run, employees to support, a future to secure. To stand still is to move backwards, the early bird gets the worm, insert generic inspirational corporate quote here.
I’ve spent months thinking deeply about the topic of AI image generation and book cover design. I’ve looked at it from all angles, I’ve dissected and gutted it, and I’ve placed samples under the microscope for closer inspection.
No matter what your personal feelings toward AI might be, there’s one thing that we can all agree on: it’s going nowhere. The world’s biggest companies are in a veritable fit trying to maximize their slice of the generative AI pie. This isn’t some off-Broadway production, a sideshow whose time will come and go; it’s here to stay, and as billions continue to be poured in by investors, it will only get herer to stayerer.
So let’s take a look at the realities of this new reality.
