Just last week Shueisha, publisher of Japan’s Weekly Playboy magazine (no relation to the American Playboy) announced the debut of a new model, Ai Satsuki. Ai was billed as being “stuffed full of men’s ideals,” and concurrent with her appearance in a photo spread of that week’s issue of Weekly Playboy, Shueisha released a digital photo album for her titled Umaretate, which translates to “just born.”
That wasn’t just a reference to Ai’s first professional modeling appearances, though, but to the fact that she didn’t exist at all until very recently. Ai wasn’t a photographed model, but a series of images created by AI.
▼ Ai Satsuki
While AI-generated images of gravure models (models who pose in swimsuits, lingerie, and other revealing outfits) have been gradually spreading on Japanese social media and websites in recent months, Ai represented the first high-profile attempt by a Japanese publisher to turn an AI model into a commercial venture. The high quality of the images did a remarkably effective job at avoiding visual glitches and uncanny valley creepiness, but while there were few complaints about how Ai looked, apparently no small number of people took issue with what Ai was, and so Shueisha has made the decision to swiftly and completely cancel sales of her photo album as well as any other projects involving her that were in the works.
In regard to the decision, Shueisha says:
“Since [the issue of Weekly Playboy in which Ai Satsuki appears and her digital photo album] went on sale, we have heard many opinions, and our editorial department has reexamined the project. As a result, considering the image creation process, the editorial department has concluded that its examination of the points of debate and potential problems of generative AI have not been sufficiently examined. Looking ahead to the likelihood of a deepening worldwide debate on the commercialization of AI generated content, we feel that this requires more careful consideration.
As a result, we will be ending sales of Ai Satsuki’s digital photo album Umaretate.”
The announcement was posted to Shueisha’s Weekly Playboy Gravure Japan website on June 7, with sales of Ai’s photo album ceasing on the site’s online store at 11 a.m. the same day, and by the end of the day on other digital platforms, leaving those wanting to make a purchase only hours to do so. In addition to halting sales of Umaretate, Shueisha has also deleted Ai’s Twitter account.
While not specifically mentioned in the statement, the ostensible hurdle is the manner in which AI creates images. Many programs capable of generating high-quality images do so by using preexisting images as initial inputs, raising the question of what sort of ownership claims the creators of those original images have over the AI’s output.
“Even if she doesn’t actually exist, the love for her that sprouts in your heart is real,” Shueisha proudly said when announcing her debut, and now fans of her short-lived career will have to apply that sentiment to their memories as well.
Source: Weekly Playboy Gravure Japan via Hachima Kiko
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18 Comments
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virusrex
The magazine jumped the gun without considering the issues surrounding the technology, so it was inevitable that troubles would happen. For fans of the fake idol this is not really a problem since it can be endlessly recreated by people with access to the tools, it can even be tweaked to be closer to what each would like to see.
Desert Tortoise
Instant collector status for any images that are out there. Not saying that was the intent but that is the ultimate effect.
tora
Her hands are too small.
Thunderbird2
@tora
I just noticed that... AI seems to have a problem with hands - some even have six fingers or two thumbs... weird. Very attractive character design though
Daninthepan
It's funny AI can't do hands or eyes - a lot of people struggle with the same when they do art. I was hoping AI images might be a break-through for me making textbooks but I've yet to get even one usable image.
Patricia Yarrow
What's with the boobs?
tora
What's with the boobs?
AI is about right here. Plenty of similar models around... Apart from the eyes being too big and hands too small, as I and others mentioned.
falseflagsteve
Surely this has better uses than to produce pornographic filth.
Mat
It's a woman in a bra. What century are you living in?
Sure, there's better uses for AI art, but frankly this is as valid as most of them.
wanderlust
Seems that South Korea is getting the monoploy on AI girls. New images seem to come out every few minutes, with normal hands/ fingers/ eyes/ skins/ shadows, way ahead of Japan's offerings.
nosuke
wow artificially created cleavage....
Jeremiah
Further objectification of women…and this is good…how?
Desert Tortoise
Painters have painted nudes of women for centuries. This is an example of perhaps a different artform and the figure has as much clothing as what one sees at any beach or public pool. I don't see the objection.
Nicolò
Why does the AI stuff wear clothes?
Roy Sophveason
Because it isn't, and isn't supposed to be, porn.
GBR48
My connection dropped. Apologies if this appears twice.
Not that new. See: Aimi Eguchi (2011), virtual idol, a CGI composite of seven other idols (Maeda Atsuko's eyes, Itano Tomomi's nose, Shinoda Mariko's mouth, Oshima Yuko's hair and body, Takahashi Minami's outline, Watanabe Mayu's eyebrows and Sasaki Yukari's voice). AI software just sources from a wider/anonymised repository.
nukkuheddo
it's interesting as an academic exercise - but I'm not sure I understand the point. There are plenty of beautiful real Japanese women. Not really gonna get the birthrate up with virtual beautiful women.
starpunk
AI can do good things and bad. But there's been stories going back to Greek mythology about beautiful women statues coming to life, as well as the awful 'Mannequin' movies of 1987 and 1991.
The philosopher Marvin Gaye once said, 'Ain't nothing like the real thing'. He was right.