Epic has slowly been integrating AI for some time now, but for many creatives, it's still a touchy subject. From scepticism to outright hatred, many have continued to express their dislike for the game company's embrace of AI tools, despite Epic's positive transparency around the controversial topic.
Doubling down despite the backlash, Epic recently shared a video of how its artists leverage genAI in their concept art. The heated response to the innocuous video reveals just how multifaceted the AI debate has become – an uncertain ethical matter with no clear resolution.
The video in question features Epic's artists taking us through their creative workflow, from early sketches to final concepts. While each step is meticulously human-made, elements such as GenMedia for Photoshop and Nano Banana with Unreal, refine the creative process in a seemingly organic way.
While AI certainly streamlines creativity, the artists point out discrepancies that appear, such as missing details and colour errors. "That’s why it’s a starting point, not a finish line,” one of the artists claims, honing in on the importance of reviewing and correcting the AI's work. While their transparent and measured approach to the technology feels like a positive step, critics weren't deterred from lambasting the video for its casual use of AI, prompting a strong ethical divide online.
Fierce backlash claimed the video was supporting "anti-art technology", while others touted it as "shameless". Another chimed in "You just literally... insulted the entire real artists community," while one critic added, "Exploiting the labor of others through generative models to pretend its 'whats in your mind' isn't a lawful ground for the theft of creative labor." Others highlighted Epic's controversial staff layoffs, with one critic writing, "First you fire 1000 mostly valuable employees for a bulls**t reason, then proudly admit to using AI for your creative process? For the company that gave us Unreal Engine, I expected FAR better."
For others, Epic's transparency was a welcome shift from secretive AI practise – while not everyone agreed with it, for some, honesty was the best policy. "While I have criticisms about current use of AI in general, like the flood of slop spam it's enabled, I have a lot less objections to how it's being used at Epic. GenMedia took a sketch that was clearly drawn by hand and rendered it in a 3D-like style," one commenter wrote. "Generative AI when it's used this way empowers traditional 2D and 3D concept artists to make more iterations and better work," another added, while one wrote, "this feels like concept art just got a cheat code."
I find myself at an intersection, struggling to accept that AI is an inevitable evolution in the industry. Continuous issues around copyright, career safety and quality output often leave me on the back foot when it comes to generative AI, but what deters me most is the inherent death of craft. Yes, AI can help you cut pesky corners, but the reward of human craft is lost. Just because AI can, doesn't mean it should. With an endless sea of concept art at the click of a button, will abundance mean we lose focus on quality, only to inevitably drown in the slop?
For more AI news, check out how Unity AI will let you build entire games with just words or take a look at why game studios are scrambling to master AI.
