Procreate pledges to be artists’ last refuge from ‘theft’ of Gen AI

This was inevitable, but perhaps not this soon. We have reached the stage where “No AI” is being used as a selling point for users who’re already tiring of the incursion and ramifications of the tech arms race.

The company behind the Procreate illustration app for iPad has pledged to keep generative articifical intelligence tools out of the app.

In a passionate rejection of the craze sweeping the tech world, the company posted on its website that GenAI was “ripping the humanity out of things” and was “built on a foundation of theft” that would lead to a “barren future.”

With the likes of Apple, Google and Adobe diving head first into generative AI image creation technology, and artists up in arms about the terms and conditions involved in using the apps in terms of image rights, Procreate acknowledges that it riskes being “left behind” in the technological arms race. However it assured users their art belongs to them and their activity is not going to be tracked by their apps or used to train AI models.

In a video posted to X James Cuda went further in responding to requests from users about the potential for GenAI to be added to the app. said: “I really f*****g hate generative AI. I don’t like what happening in the industry and I don’t like what its doing to artists.

“We’re not going to be introducing any generative AI into our products. Our products are always designed and developed with the idea a human will be creating something. We don’t exactly know where this story is going to go or how it ends but we beleive we’re on the right path supporting human creativity.”

The buy-once Procreate app is “a complete art studio” you can take anywhere, according to the maker. It enables users to create sketches, paintings, illustrations, animations and much more, with complete support for the latest Apple Pencil features and the ability to create on a high resolution canvas. If you’re tiring of AI showing-up everywhere in your apps and on your devices, Procreate is potentially your final vestige.