Bonebox Game's Stance on AI Art

     In the modern age, artificial intelligence (AI) has become deeply embedded in just about every aspect of our culture. A few short years ago we were all laughing at the ridiculous AI video of Will Smith eating spaghetti, and now we are seeing newer, improved versions of AI being used to spread misinformation, plagiarizing creative fields, and replacing jobs. While AI certainly has a place in data analytics and similar applications, creativity is certainly not one of those places.

     Every day as I scroll through social media, I see another example of AI being used by bad actors, including major corporations, to make a buck or stir outrage. Frankly, I am sick of it. Evan and I have watched AI slowly creeping into TCG communities, blatantly taking work away from many extremely talented, up-and-coming artists. We each have been active in TCG spaces for the past 15-ish years, we both come from artist families, and we both find this completely reprehensible, period. There is no space for AI in any serious capacity in TCGs.

     With all of that said, I want to provide the official Bonebox Games stance on AI art, directly from the founders: We will never utilize AI on any of our products. We have zero tolerance for it. We are proud to have made friends with so many talented artists since we started Bonebox, and the thought of them losing work to a soulless algorithm is heart-breaking. 

     We started Bonebox Games as a way to work with the artists we love, that we feel are under-represented, and to help get their work out into the world and onto accessories we and others would be proud to put on the table at our LGS. Nothing about that has changed, and it will not in the future. Art is the single, purest expression of humanity. We, as a society, must never become comfortable outsourcing our humanity to a machine.

     To conclude, I want to thank all the artists who have worked with us so far for their hard work and creative spark. When I finish my doomscrolling for the evening, I take comfort in knowing that you’re all out there making living, breathing, human artwork. We will continue to do everything we can to support that pursuit. Thank you for reading.

<3, 

Jesse