A children's book illustrates the pros and cons of the commercial use of AI image generators

Entrepreneur Niels Hoven has released an alphabet book featuring nearly 1,000 illustrations made with AI. Hoven says producing this many images by hand would have been too complicated and expensive for human artists. With each illustration taking about two hours, he estimates the project would have cost around $50,000. The use of AI instead drew criticism on social media and in Amazon reviews.

A screenshot highlights the controversy over AI image generators. Recent UK court decisions say training AI models on existing works does not violate copyright. | via X

Hoven addressed the criticism, explaining that without AI, a hardcover edition would have cost about $200. Thanks to generative AI, the book is now available as a free PDF and as a $30 hardcover, with all proceeds going to Amazon for printing and shipping. Hoven says he earns nothing from sales. He maintains the book couldn't have been made without AI, and that its main purpose is to help children learn to read. Still, the project doubles as advertising for Hoven's company, which offers a related learning app.