San Diego Comic-Con Bans AI from Art Show

A rules update for the 2026 Art Show at San Diego Comic-Con, one of the largest pop-culture and collector events in the nation, will bar any pieces created using artificial intelligence from exhibiting. The change follows moves by other conventions and operators such as GalaxyCon LLC, DragonCon and Emerald City Comic Con in response to artist outcry against the technology and the “slippery slope” of representing AI output alongside human-made artwork.

The new language listed under the exhibition rules for the SDCC Art Show is as follows:

“Material created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) either partially or wholly, is not allowed in the art show. If there are questions, the Art Show Coordinator will be the sole judge of acceptability.”

404 Media reported on the change and dug up the former wording of the policy, in place since about 2024:

“Material produced by Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be placed in the show, but only as Not-for-Sale (NFS). It must be clearly marked as AI-produced, not simply listed as a print. If one of the parameters in its creation was something similar to ‘Done in the style of,’ that information must be added to the description. If there are questions, the Art Show Coordinator will be the sole judge of acceptability.”

The outlet spoke to comics and concept artist Tiana Oreglia, and to artist Karla Ortiz, who discussed how they and their fellow artists rallied against the former AI-inclusive policy on social media. Ortiz shared concerns that the implementation of generative AI is already impacting artists’ livelihoods, saying it has made it harder to find longer projects to help sustain working creatives.

“You have this encroaching exploitative technology impacting almost every single level of the entertainment industry, whether you’re a writer, or a voice actor, or a musician, a painter, a concept artist, an illustrator. It doesn’t matter … and then to have Comic-Con, that place that’s supposed to be a gathering and a celebration of said creatives and their work, suddenly put on a pedestal the exploitative technology that only functions because of its training on our works? It’s upsetting beyond belief,” Ortiz told 404 Media, describing her reaction when she found out about the former policy. “What is Comic-Con trying to tell the industry? It’s telling artists: ‘Hey you, you’re exploitable and you’re replaceable.’”

She called the updated policy banning AI from the Art Show “a relief,” adding, “Generative AI is still going to creep its nasty way in some way or another, but at least it’s not something we have to take lying down. It’s something we can actively speak out against.”

Comic-Con has not issued an official statement on the rule change.

[Sources: 404 Media, Comic-Con.org]