We live in a world where Generative AI images are making us second-guess everything we see online, and that now extends to artwork innocently posted to mark the anniversary of famous video game characters.
Yesterday, the official Rare social media account posted an image of Conker and Berri to promote a new remix of the main theme of Conker's Bad Fur Day, which turned 25 recently.
In a now-deleted post on Twitter, @Facts_About_BK reshared the image with the comment "Oh, that's Rare using generative AI instead of artists," adding in subsequent posts that "looking closely at the eyes they're not perfectly round and kinda jitter. Berri's left eye has a weird smear on it. The weird contrast on the edges. An additional detail... both tongues are in two different art styles with the line crease at its center."
The account added, for context, that "Microsoft laid off a lot of Rare and several studios to fund their AI data centers. Microsoft has been gung ho on doubling down on genAI for the last two years. Creatives being replaced could be seen miles away."
Several people got in touch with Rare to question the origin of the image, and many others reshared it with understandably negative comments about the studio ignoring human artists in favour of using GenAI – a tool trained on the work of real people without permission or remuneration that competes with human artists.
This has compelled Rare staffer and voice of Conker's Bad Fur Day's Great Mighty Poo, Chris Marlow, to point out that the artwork was created by a real person.
"This cover artwork was definitely not created by AI, but by the incredibly talented Pete Hentze, a long-time Rare artist, and one of the concept artists on Conker: Live and Reloaded," says Marlow.
Robin Beanland, another longtime Rare employee and the subject of the original post (he's created a remix of the game's theme), has also taken to social media to assure fans that no AI was used in making the image.
It's a shame that GenAI has driven us to the point where we're questioning every piece of art we see – even when it comes from official sources.