This iPad app for creatives is refusing to adopt Gen AI features—now or in the future

Procreate is taking a different stance compared to most tech companies by choosing not to adopt generative AI. Here’s what the company said.

Procreate is available as a paid app for the iPad. (Procreate)

We have seen how tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and even Apple are rushing to bring new generative AI features to their products—be it smartphones or professional software. But in this sea of generative AI, Procreate is one app that refuses to take the plunge. For those uninitiated, Procreate is a popular creative tool for iPad and iPhone, which many digital artists use to create a wide range of work including illustrations, graphic design, and paintings, thanks to its wide brush support and user-friendly design.

“Creativity is made, not generated”: Procreate

Procreate has made it clear that it is against the use of generative AI in creative projects. “We're not going to be introducing any generative AI into our products,” Procreate CEO James Cuds said. He also emphasised that he is not happy about what is going on in the industry and its impact on artists at large.

Furthermore, the company has also set up a page on its website detailing its anti-AI stance. “AI is not our future,” Procreate says on its website. It also believes that generative AI is “ripping humanity out of things” and that it is built on a “foundation of theft.” 

“We're here for the humans. We're not chasing a technology that is a moral threat to our greatest jewel: human creativity,” the company said.

Procreate Takes a Stance Different from Other Companies

Recently, there were widespread concerns about how some companies were going to use creators' content to improve software. While many of these claims were later clarified, it still goes without saying that using a creative's art for training AI doesn't sit well with many. This is why Procreate has made it clear that it won't have access to any work that artists create using Procreate. Plus, it also won't track any user activity for the utmost privacy.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this pans out for the company, but as things stand, this move is being appreciated by artists and creatives on social media and will likely continue to appeal to certain people moving forward. However, what this entails as a business decision remains to be seen.