The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creative industry has prompted calls for guidelines to be established for its use and to protect the intellectual property rights of artists. Naver Webtoon, a digital comics platform by Korea’s largest portal Naver, recently introduced Toon Filter, an AI image generator that converts a photo into the drawing styles of 10 popular artists who publish on the platform. While the Toon Filter has become a popular tool, generating over 20 million images within a week after its release, it has also sparked concerns about copyright protection. Some domestic fans and critics argue that Naver Webtoon is potentially undermining the growth of the webcomic industry it helped establish. Some artists also view AI as a fundamental threat to their existence and have expressed concerns over the technology stealing their work. Rep. Lee Sang-heon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) recently proposed an amendment to the Content Industry Promotion Act, which would require notification of AI technology use in creative work.
Naver is Korea’s largest portal and operates a slew of verticals including search, messenger, email, cloud, comics, entertainment and social media services.
The anonymous webtoon artist in the article has voiced concerns over the use of AI-generated services in the industry.
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