Wizards of the Coast, the company behind the gigantic brands Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, actually doesn’t want to use art created by artificial intelligence. However, this was still the case in an advertising image. The corporation first denied everything—only to then backtrack and apologize.
This is why there’s trouble:
- In a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), Wizards of the Coast showcased some Magic cards against a steampunk background—as an advertisement.
- While the cards themselves were created by real artists, the background consists of images created by artificial intelligence.
- AI art has long been a contentious topic, even in gaming. However, Wizards claimed that everything was created by artists. Users found evidence to the contrary.
This is the image in question:
This was the criticism: The discussion on X quickly turned into accusations. Users found clues for AI art such as poor details, blurry parts in the image, and more. These are things that AI often struggles with.
Consequently, there was trouble in the community. Fans believe that either the artist who got the job lied to Wizards of the Coast—or Wizards of the Coast is lying to its fans.
AI art is controversial anyway because it can pose significant issues with copyright and because it “steals” work from “real” artists. This is at least how critics see it. It’s said, for example: “We are witnessing the death of art here.”
In the case of Magic, however, the discussion is even bigger: Wizards of the Coast had only recently in 2023 faced a major scandal over AI art in Dungeons & Dragons. Shortly thereafter, the company issued a statement saying it generally distances itself from AI and relies on people who create the artworks (via Wizards).
Artificial intelligence can do much more than just create images, as Twitch streamer Amouranth demonstrates:
“We cannot promise to be perfect”
Accordingly, Wizards of the Coast claimed on X that no AI was involved in creating the advertising image. However, two days later, the corporation published a new statement on the official website.
It states: “Thanks to our diligent community, which discovered that a number of newer marketing images contain elements of generative AI, we are now reconsidering the process by which we work with vendors.”
Apparently, the corresponding background image came from outside. They want to ensure better inspection from now on to check whether a work used has involved AI or not.
Wizards makes it clear: “We cannot promise to be perfect… but our goal is to revert to human-created art and artists.”
The products of Wizards of the Coast, namely D&D and Magic, thrive in part on their art. Although rules and consistent gameplay are the more important factors for playing, some fans do have the artworks framed on their walls. Even simple things like the land cards from Magic.
Without the prior promise that Wizards would completely refrain from AI, the discussion probably wouldn’t have escalated as much as it has now. Nevertheless, artificial intelligence remains a contentious issue, especially when it comes to creating works, as an older discussion on Reddit shows: “AI can do in seconds what takes you hours.”
