Dragon Con, the massive fantasy and sci-fi convention held each Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, sparked controversy this year when organizers called police to expel an art vendor. The vendor was accused of selling AI-generated artwork.
From Bleeding Cool:
A vendor exhibiting under the name Oriana Gerez at Dragon Con in Atlanta this weekend, at booth A10, was asked to pack up their table, with police present, after they were accused of selling A.I. artwork as if it were their own.
Was Oriana Gerez Selling AI-Generated Art?
It’s unclear to me whether or not Oriana Gerez was indeed selling art created by AI. Even if she was, so what? Contrary to what gets posted ad nauseam online, Dragon Con did not have a rule or policy against selling AI-generated art. I combed through the Dragon Con website and couldn’t find a rule or policy about AI-generated art.
To leave no stone unturned, I enlisted the help of ChatGPT. Who better to find a policy against AI-generated art than AI?
This is what ChatGPT said:
Dragon Con’s official policies page (under About → Dragon Con Policies) outlines general convention rules—such as badge requirements, weapons policy, harassment, etc. But it currently does not mention AI-generated art or any related restrictions.
The Art Show and Artist Alley sections of the site outline participation guidelines and submission rules—like originality, merchandise limits, and subject matter—but make no explicit reference to AI-generated art.
In short: there is no publicly posted, explicit AI-art policy on the official Dragon Con website at this time.
I know before I said Dragon Con has a policy against selling AI-generated art, I would make damn sure such a policy actually existed. Obviously, a lot of people don’t feel the same reluctance about posting unsubstantiated, false information.
In Conclusion
People are stupid. The anti-AI-generated art zealots prove it. One common claim these zealots make is that AI art is inferior and soulless. Because of this. it’s easy to identify. If that’s true, why then are they so aggressive towards people who supposedly create it? Oriana Gerez was only accused of selling AI art. If I were an artist, why would I want someone selling inferior art to get kicked out of Dragon Con? Unless my art were also inferior, it would look better when compared to something inferior.
That doesn’t make sense.
I hope Oriana Gerez sues Dragon Con and the people aggressively and gleefully slandering her. If she starts a GoFundMe for her legal costs, I will donate.