Procreate, a popular illustration app for iPad, has proudly announced its stance on generative AI. If you were hoping to see AI capabilities in the Procreate app, CEO James Cuda’s statement on X might disappoint you. On August 19, 2024, Procreate posted a video on X where CEO James Cuda stated that Procreate is AI-free and they have no plans to add generative AI to their products.
“I really hate generative AI. I don’t like what’s happening in the industry and I don’t like what it’s doing to artists.” – James Cuda
The reasons why Procreate avoids AI are that “AI is not our future” and that “creativity is created, not generated,” according to a bold and clear statement on the Procreate website. Additionally, the website states that “generative AI is tearing humanity out of things” and the company believes that AI is “built on a foundation of theft and that technology is leading us into a sterile future.”
The company also explained that it does not have access to users’ work, nor does it track user activity within the apps. It made it clear that works created by artists within the Procreate app would remain accessible only to the artist. It’s not that Procreate doesn’t see the possibilities and potential of AI, but it feels that there is no place for AI in the creative space. “We think machine learning is a compelling technology with a lot of merit, but the path that generative AI is taking is not the right one for us.”
Procreate has made it clear that unlike other creative tools, they will not use artists’ artwork to train and implement generative AI tools. The company believes that AI is a moral threat to its greatest jewel: human creativity, and I couldn’t agree more. I personally appreciate that Procreate is focusing on artists and respecting their hard-earned skills at a time when most companies are embedding AI into everything they make to win the AI race.
CEO James Cuda’s anti-AI stance highlights one of the growing concerns in the arts community that generative AI is undermining the value of human-made art, and that’s entirely true. Big players in the digital art space like Canva and Adobe are integrating a spectrum of AI capabilities to generate and edit multimedia. These tools are trained on human-made art, with or sometimes even without your consent. Furthermore, they pose a potential risk of displacing jobs in the creative industries.
Since AI has been integrated into creative tools, many artists and creators have felt that their livelihoods have been affected by these AI tools and that their work has not been valued. In such a difficult AI context, Procreate’s position seems like a breath of fresh air that preserves the “humanity” of creative work.
In less than two days, Procreate’s post on X has received over 87,000 likes (and counting) and hundreds of complimentary comments, showing their support and appreciation. The artist community seems to be backing this decision with kind comments and replies. developer and illustrator wrote“Creativity is what makes us unique and it is how everything new is brought into the world.” Another X user wrote“I am a casual user of this software, but now I will enjoy using it even more.”
Some might consider Procreate’s statement as commercial suicide, but for me, it’s the key to gaining customer trust. Of course, a true artist would stick to an app that values their work and wouldn’t steal it to train their AI models or monitor their activities. I think more companies need to take a leaf out of Procreate’s book and respect users’ digital privacy. There’s no need to force AI into everything. For once, let creativity flow, without any AI intervention.
We’ve already seen Adobe quietly update its terms of service to require users to grant full access to works. This was meant to train its services and software to improve them. After user backlash, Adobe backtracked. A major factor is the lack of transparency about how popular AI models train their data.
What do you think about Procreate’s stance on AI? Don’t forget to share your views in the comments below.
