WotC’s Updated Statement On AI Reiterates: No AI Art For ‘D&D’
Yesterday, Wizards of the Coast released an “updated statement on AI” that reiterates the company’s stance against generative AI in its products.
Yesterday, the looming specter of “AI art” cast its shadow over the tabletop RPG community, in all the wrong places. Wizards of the Coast was thought to be employing AI art when it wasn’t, and meanwhile, AI artwork turned up in the Terminator 2: Judgement Day RPG of all places. All in all, a banner day for not farming out creative work to AI.
But the story keeps going, as later that day, Wizards of the Coast issued two statements about AI Artwork, reiterating that it was against their guidelines for work on D&D.
Wizards of the Coast – Updated Statements on AI
The D&D “updated statement” came through via D&D Beyond, which has become one of WotC’s places to communicate with the D&D community at large:
“For 50 years, D&D has been built on the innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of talented people who sculpt a beautiful, creative game. That isn’t changing. Our internal guidelines remain the same with regards to artificial intelligence tools: We require artists, writers, and creatives contributing to the D&D TTRPG to refrain from using AI generative tools to create final D&D products. We work with some of the most talented artists and creatives in the world, and we believe those people are what makes D&D great.
A similar statement came through Wizards of the Coast’s “DailyMTG” post, and reads almost exactly the same, except you Magic: the Gathering has only been around for 30 years, and where they say D&D they swap it out with Magic, and where they say TTRPG it reads TCG. Which makes a lot of sense, WotC has the statement already to go. So they may as well use it twice.
Of course, it’s hard to feel the “our game is built on the hard work of talented people” when those same people were unceremoniously laid off before the holidays, despite the company being the only profitable arm at Hasbro at the moment.
The community reception has ranged from welcome acceptance to skepticism. Some folks seem to be taking issue with the word final in the phrase reading “we require artists […] to refrain from using AI generative tools to create final D&D products“. And on the Twitter thread linking the official Magic statement, the official WotC responds to community concerns about a job posting earlier in the year looking to hire artists for editing and touching up artwork:
We've also seen some discussion about a job posting for Wizards from earlier this year. That job listing involved editing and touch-up work on other human-created art. It's not in relation to touch-up work on generative AI.
— Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) December 19, 2023
Though there hasn’t been a post on any official D&D accounts about this, it addresses one of the biggest concerns in the community right now. Especially since, in the wake of the layoffs, many are concerned that WotC will go the route of saving money by using AI to generate art and having a human clean it up. A dismal, bleak view indeed. But one not unwarranted. In a post on the 5E subreddit, the community is still arguing about it.
While WotC doesn’t seem to be headed in that direction, and it’s unlikely that they will (using beautiful art is one of its main pillars), it highlights the growing tension that comes when something disruptive hits an industry that is ripe for abuse because it’s perceived as “aspirational” and that doing the job is its own reward. There’s a sentiment that goes “oh you’re lucky to work in games, you should be grateful”, and it rings hollow when you consider just how easily it is for people in games to find themselves laid off, exploited, or worse. Just look at 2023.
This is something that both the community and the companies involved in the industry need to tackle, and working together seems to be the best way forward. As we head into more murky AI waters, transparency and communication seem to be the best and brightest guiding lights.
In the meantime, WotC still isn’t using AI art.
