The following article is reproduced from the July 2025 edition of The Jester:
The nefarious tendrils of [articifial intelligence] have already made themselves known within applications for the club, and it’s hard to avoid AI-drawn cartoons online regardless of quality. It’s clearly not going away. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept it, either. We believe that, as a club, we need to make our position clear, and so have adopted the following:
The Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain do not condone the use of generative AI in the creation of cartoons or illustration. We will never knowingly publish any AI generated cartoons on our website, Facebook page, in our monthly magazine The Jester, or use them in any exhibition or event we are involved in.
Likewise, we will not accept membership from anyone using generative AI wholly or partially in their cartooning. We strongly advise our members not to use generative AI in their work. If members submit generative AI to any call for cartoons by the club they will be declined, and persistent use will jeopardise continued membership. We will not tolerate its use.
AI, per se, has its uses across many industries, but generative AI has no place in the creative arts. The computers that produce cartoons and illustrations are stealing imagery from real creatives. This is not acceptable.
Damn right – NO AI stuff !