The strong viewership aside, the Tom Hiddleston-starring Marvel series faces backlash over alleged use of generative AI for its season 2 promotional poster.
- Oct 10, 2023
AceShowbiz - "Loki" season 2 debuted with solid viewership numbers on Disney+. The new season of the Marvel series brought in 10.9 million views in its first three days of availability after debuting on Thursday, October 5.
The number makes the sophomore season of the Tom Hiddleston-starring series become the second most-watched season premiere this year. "The Mandalorian" takes the top spot with its season 3 premiere back in March.
The strong viewership aside, "Loki" faced backlash over alleged use of generative AI for its season 2 promotional poster. Professional designers believed that the controversial poster was partially created using generative AI.
Illustrator Katria Raden commented on the image on X, formerly Twitter, "Madly disappointed they're using AI generated imagery to promote Loki." The designer claimed that the picture of the spiraling clock in the background "is giving all the AI telltale signs, like things randomly turning into meaningless squiggles."
Other users also pointed out that the background on the "Loki" artwork was seemingly taken from an identical stock image on Shutterstock titled "Surreal Infinity Time Spiral Space Antique." It was also revealed that several AI image checkers flagged the Stock image as AI-generated after a scanning process.
Raden shared that the use of generative AI is a threat for the creative community as it could replace human artists. "Licensing photos and illustrations on stock sites has been a way many hard-working artists have been earning a living. I don't think replacing them with generated imagery via tech built on mass exploitation and wage theft is any more ethical than replacing Disney's own employees," Raden noted.
This wasn't the first time Disney+ received backlash for allegedly using generative AI. The streaming service was previously accused of using it on another Marvel series, "Secret Invasion", though the studio claimed that despite using AI tools, it didn't reduce roles for real designers on the project.
