The debate around AI in art creation has been raging for ages, and with generative AI tech getting scarily good, it's often impossible to tell if a piece is AI-generated just by looking. This has unfortunately dragged many artists into a full-blown witch hunt.
Japanese artist "Okoge Gorigori (@okoge_gorigori)" recently shared on X (formerly Twitter) that they were accused of using AI art last year. The accuser pointed out that the butterflies scattered across their artwork, meant to liven up the scene, all looked identical, claiming this was a tell-tale "sign of AI art."
The artist's response to the accusation was hilariously blunt: "Uh, yeah, because I just copy-pasted them! Who has time to draw every single one?" They went on to explain that elements like butterflies are perfect for adding detail, so to save time, they'd already created and saved several butterfly brushes.
This whole kerfuffle had netizens cracking up, pointing out that the accusers had completely missed the mark. One user quipped, "If anything, AI art *wouldn't* have perfectly identical butterflies, right? Do they even know what AI art looks like?" Another added, "Actually, AI usually makes every shape *different*..."
Other users chimed in, noting that AI art often struggles with "inconsistent details" across different parts of an image. Since AI doesn't quite grasp that "this part and that part should look the same," elements requiring symmetry or regularity—like a pair of eyes or building windows—might be generated individually, leading to subtle discrepancies.
Plus, from a digital art perspective, this is just standard practice for artists! One netizen joked, "That's not an AI characteristic, that's just common sense in digital art! Expecting an artist to draw every single butterfly is pure torture. Long live copy-paste!" Using copy-paste for decorative elements like butterflies to add detail is, and always has been, a super common technique.
Seriously, brushes aren't AI, and assets aren't AI. They're just tools artists use to save time and boost efficiency. I mean, if artists had to hand-draw every single butterfly, petal, or piece of lace, they'd probably collapse from exhaustion!