Wizards of the Coast Bans AI

This August a user on X (formally Twitter) called out an image that was in one of the newest Dungeons and Dragons book Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. @NevernotDM pointed out some oddities in several images. There was a wolf with human like feet, an axe embedded in another fox and a hand that seemed very odd. Looking at the images myself it appears that the artist used AI partial or fully to make the images.

Wizards of the coast came back with a response on X stating that the they were unaware that the artist used AI in creation of the artwork. They also came out and said that they no longer ant their artists to use AI created art or AI in the creation of art for Dungeons and Dragons books.

Publishers have been banning AI from their books this year. Paizo banned AI art in its books in March of this year. The statement from Paizo stated support for human artists. This is also part of the negotiation in both the writers strike and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Could this be a revolt against AI in the creative fields where AI art has become so accessible or is this industries pumping the brakes before the inevitable? Some people believe that AI will be a great equalizer for indy publishers. This will be something interesting to watch as AI becomes more popular and sophisticated.