Raise the shields, Captain Kirk!
William Shatner, the 93-year-old actor best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek TV series and related movies, took fire from fans on X (formerly Twitter) this week after revealing the cover of his latest music album, "Where Will the Animals Sleep" [sic], which he confirmed was generated with AI.
On Sunday, Shatner posted an image of the cover, featuring a digital representation of him surrounded by children of diverse ethnicities, elephants and birds in a jungle setting, as well as a link to order a CD or vinyl of the album on Amazon.
"Didn’t actors and writers just strike against Ai?" replied one X user, referencing the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes in Hollywood. "Artists are humans too who like their craft and don’t want Ai taking over."
Shatner posted a fiery retort:
Another user countered that "all AI are trained on work the tech guys didn’t pay & continue to not pay for, violating copyrights & trademarks."
To which Shatner replied: "Could you please point out the copyright violations‽ if not, then [zipper mouth emoji]."
Among those who called upon Shatner to learn more about the copyright issues at stake with generative AI was visual artist Karla Ortiz, one of the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against AI art generator companies including Midjourney and Stable Diffusion.
Shatner remained unrepentant, noting that many artists are inspired by and make homages to other artists, a common position among AI art defenders (including the author of this article).
"Let progress happen," he opined in a different response to a replier.
Ultimately, he stood by the AI artwork chosen for the cover of his album, posting "I've approved it and that's all there is to it. The end. Move on."
Shatner remains the latest in a long line of famous entertainers and artists — from Ye aka Kanye West to Madonna — as well as new up-and-coming indie creators like the filmmakers of Late Night With The Devil and the showrunner of the latest True Detective, to deploy AI visuals in their works.
He's also among the many to be criticized for doing so. Yet unlike other artists who have been pilloried for using AI and simply not acknowledged it or issued statements filled with platitudes, Shatner showed an admirable willingness to engage with his critics, as well as commitment to his original position, remaining defiant and undeterred even in the face of many naysayers.
He may not be playing Captain Kirk anymore, but Shatner clearly retains some of Kirk's unflinching and combative spirit — as well as a Star Trek like embrace of new technology that would likely make the fictional character and creator Gene Roddenberry proud.