Procreate's Firm Stand Against Generative AI: What You Should Know

A popular illustration app for iPads, Procreate proudly announced its stance on Generative AI. If you were hoping to see the AI capabilities in the Procreate app, then CEO James Cuda’s statement on X might leave you disappointed. On August 19, 2024, Procreate posted a video on X where CEO James Cuda said that Procreate is AI-free and they have no plans to add any generative AI to their products.

“I really fucking 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

Procreate’s reasons for avoiding AI are that “AI is not our future” and “creativity is made, not generated,” according to a bold and clear statement on the Procreate website. Furthermore, the website states that “Generative AI is ripping humanity out of things,” and the company believes that AI is “built on a foundation of theft and the technology is steering us toward a barren future.”

The company further explained that they neither have access to users’ work nor do they track users’ activity in the apps. They clearly stated that the works created by artists in the Procreate app will remain available only to the artist. It’s not that Procreate doesn’t see the possibilities and potential for AI, but they feel that there’s no place for AI in the creative space. “We think machine learning is a compelling technology with a lot of merit, but the path generative AI is on is wrong for us.”

Procreate clearly mentioned that, unlike other creative tools, they won’t use artists’ works to train and implement generative AI tools. The company feels AI is a moral threat to its greatest jewel—human creativity, and I couldn’t agree more. I personally appreciate Procreate for focusing on artists and respecting their hard-earned skills in an era where most companies are putting AI in everything they make to win the AI race.

CEO James Cuda’s anti-AI stance sheds some light on one of the growing worries in artist communities that generative AI undermines the value of human-created art, which is absolutely true. Big players in the digital art space like Canva and Adobe are integrating a spectrum of AI capabilities for generating and editing multimedia. Such tools are trained on human-created art, with or sometimes even without your consent. Also, they are a potential risk in replacing jobs in creative industries.

Ever since AI was integrated into creativity tools, many artists and creatives feel that their livelihoods are being affected by those AI tools and their work isn’t valued. Amid such a challenging AI league, Procreate’s stance feels like a breath of fresh air that preserves the “humanity” of creative work.

In less than two days, Procreate’s post on X got more than 87,000 (and counting) likes and hundreds of happy comments, showering their support and appreciation. The artist community seems to back this decision with some sweet comments and responses. A developer and illustrator wrote, “Creativity is what makes us unique, and it’s how anything new is brought into the world.” Another X user wrote, “I am an occasional user of this software, but now I will enjoy using it all the way more.”

Some people may consider Procreate’s declaration as business suicide, but for me, it’s the key to winning customer trust. Of course, a true artist would stick to an app that values their work and doesn’t steal it to train its AI models or keep an eye on their activities. I feel more companies need to learn from Procreate and respect users' digital privacy. There is no need to forcefully push AI into every aspect of creativity. For once, let creativity shine without any AI touch.

Previously, we saw Adobe updating its terms and conditions quietly to ask users to grant full access to artwork. This was done to train its services and software to improve them. After user backlash, Adobe backtracked. The lack of transparency of how popular AI models train their data is a major factor.

What do you feel about Procreate’s stance on AI? Don’t forget to share your views in the comments below.