Comic author JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Hirhiko Araki expressed shock and concern after discovering that his artwork was perfectly imitated by AI.
In the second chapter of New Manga Techniques, released on November 15, 2024, Araki shared his experience of stumbling upon an AI-generated work of art that was so accurate it was almost impossible. indistinguishable from his own style.
“Recently, I came across a drawing and thought. 'Is this what I drew?' I was shocked to learn it was actually created by Al. When drawing manga, I add subtle, personal elements to make my work unique. This AI-generated work even imitates details like the way I draw my eyelashes, so accurately that it is almost indistinguishable from my work,” he notes.
He noted that if it were based on his more recent works, he would be able to distinguish it immediately.
However, the AI's precision makes it more difficult to distinguish the work from his older works, where his memory of specific details was less clear.
He also warned of a future where AI-generated counterfeits could blur the lines of authenticity, raising fears of a world dominated by fraudsters.
He emphasized the need for a stronger legal framework to address the problem, and expressed concern that without regulation, fraudsters could exploit AI technology to create fraudulent works. Counterfeit can be accepted as genuine.
“The more Al improves, the more things like this will happen. Art reflects the times and manga is an example of that. Seeing a world of scammers appearing in the manga could very well mean that we are heading towards a future world dominated by scammers. This kind of 'evil' in this day and age will definitely affect manga going forward.”
Araki also addresses the challenges of piracy in the AI era. In handing over management of his copyright to Shueisha, he expressed concern for other artists who were less vigilant in protecting their intellectual property.
“Al's copyright infringement is also a 'villain' that we manga artists have to face. The extreme scenario is that fakes created by Al could start to be accepted as 'authentic'. And even as we try to protect our work, these counterfeits are becoming so precise and sophisticated that it is no longer a war that one individual can win. Having some kind of law would probably be the only way to regulate this. However, because we are facing a world of fraudsters, there is also a very real possibility that regulations supporting them will appear before we know it. I personally entrust my copyright management to Shueisha, but some manga artists are lax in copyright management, leading to others using their works without permission or even leaked original drawings. When I saw that. I'm worried that they could get into serious trouble later if they don't take this issue more seriously.”
AI has come under scrutiny in the animanga sector due to the risks it poses to the industry.
Recently, famous voice actors include Ryusei Nakao (Frieza in Dragon Ball), Koichi Yamadera (Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop), Yuki Kaji (Eren in Attack on Titan), Daisuke Namikawa (Choso in Jujutsu Kaisen), Jun Fukuyama (Lelouch in Code Geass) and others have come together to combat the growing threat of unauthorized AI voice cloning.
Source: X
