A Note About AI Images IN MY COVER DESIGNS
Yes. I use AI. Yes, I am upfront about it. You should always know what you’re paying for. It would be unethical not to declare it straight up.
Because the images I use are AI generated, they don’t take very much time beyond sorting and discarding, so I don’t believe they’re worth anywhere near what an artist does or can do for you. So, for an independent publisher they’re cost-effective. The small fee ($30-$50) that I charge is for the rest of the cover … my graphic design abilities and experience, and also an understanding of commercial design and publishing, from my decades of working in the industry and also for keeping up with what’s relevant.
There are a lot of arguments about the ethics and morals of using AI, and there are a lot of people who refuse to use it for various reasons. That is absolutely your choice and I commend you for sticking to your values on that.
However, my values about using AI are different because I view AI through a different lens. It’s a tool, a resource, and it’s here to stay whether it’s appreciated or not. I won’t hide that I use AI-generated images, or falsely advertise what I’m doing, or charge a ridiculous amount that doesn’t equal the time and effort that went into it. That’s where my values come in.
Think about how computers swept through the world, changing the faces of many jobs, eradicating a whole bunch but also creating others. There were never programmers, website designers, game developers, digital publishers, etc, before computers. For those people whose jobs disappeared because of computers, it sucked! The switchboard operators, factory and warehouse workers, cashiers, bank tellers, travel agents, and more, likely had strong opinions about computers coming in.
AI is the same. For some, it’ll suck! For others, it’s an opportunity. That’s what it is to me, because I can now access images in a way I never could before, without risking the same image appearing on the cover of another book. That is the risk of using stock images, which is what I used to use before AI came along.
So, I hope you can understand where I’m coming from, and that I use AI because I don’t believe that AI will ever fully replace artists or writers. As a creative, I know my work still has a place in the world, and that it has a value that AI cannot reproduce.