Gartic Phone, a web-based drawing game popularized by artists and streamers, quietly pulled the "AI mode" gameplay from its beta version following backlash from its players.
Many players first took note of the new "AI mode" on Asian servers last week, supposedly allowing players to use AI to generate the illustrations rather than manually drawing it themselves as has been the staple of the game.
I wasnt there but my friends did a thing with it pic.twitter.com/gYpP9pCpVT
— Moni (@Nettspesbian) April 21, 2024
The issue later took traction after popular animator Ross O'Donovan, who often streams Gartic Phone gameplays with other artists, noted the feature on April 21, Sunday.
Gartic Phone is looking to add this?
— RubberRoss (@RubberNinja) April 21, 2024
...Any devs want to make a new drawing game with me? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/OnVhJZmKEI
As of writing, the game mode is already unavailable on all servers and game versions. Onrizon, the game's developer, has yet to make a statement addressing the issue.
Also Read : XPPen Apologizes for Using AI Images Again
Artists Push Back Against AI Threat
The issue with Gartic Phone was not the first time supposed "artist-first" companies have been caught using or testing AI for their platform.
Months before Gartic Phone, popular digital artist store XP Pen was accused of using AI-generated images for its Mother's Day greetings on its Canada account.
The company later apologized for the incident, promising to improve its verification against AI images. This was XP Pen's second time being caught with generative AI
A month prior, Wizards of the Coast, the owner of Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragon, also admitted to using AI for its advertisement material after longtime artists commissioned by the company also blasted them.
All companies took back the AI-powered posts following backlash from their fans and artists calling against the misuse of AI to replace humans in artistic works.
AI Creeps into Gaming Community
Artist communities are not the only ones who are slowly being exposed to the growing reach of generative AI.
SAG-AFTRA, the same actors' union that pushed against studios using AI to replicate actors without compensation, agreed to sign a deal with an AI company to license voice actors' likenesses in game development.
Many members of the guild immediately said of not noted that such a deal was made prior to the signing during the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show.
There is also the case of OpenAI reportedly courting Hollywood executives for the potential use of its new text-to-video model Sora in film and show production.
