Posted in: Adult Swim, Games, Rick and Morty, streaming, TV | Tagged: Adult Swim, ai, dan harmon, Justin Roiland, rick and morty

Rick and Morty: Roiland on Using AI Art; Season 6 Finale Homework

So this weekend will mark the first Sunday without a new episode of Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland's Rick and Morty, which means we're in for a long stretch of random updates between now and the seventh season. That also means going back over the past season for any clues to what's to come, and we're sharing a moment from the Season 6 finale that vibes like it's worth a much closer examination (as well as some thoughts on why we're not as optimistic about the moment as others seem to be). But first, Roiland is sharing his thoughts on a very controversial topic in the artistic community- the use of AI tools to generate artwork. While some see the practice as the next step in the creative process, others (especially artists) are pushing back hard on the practice. First, the artwork that's generated is nothing more than a mash-up of artwork from other artists without the original artist being compensated & credited for the work. In addition, the AI work cuts real artists out of the process and takes away opportunities for gainful artistic employment.

Roiland recently spoke with Sky News to promote his video game High On Life, which features his vocal talents as well as those of JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants). Over the course of the conversation, Roiland discussed how Midjourney AI was used to both create & enhance aspects of the game's various alien locales that were otherwise hand-drawn. Lead designer Erich Meyr also shared that AI was used to help develop some character voices (with a minor role coming for it that was utilized in the game itself. "It makes the world feel like a strange alternate universe of our world, and we used it to come up with weird, funny ideas," Roiland explained, viewing AI as another creative weapon in a creator's arsenal. "I don't know what the future holds, but AI is going to be a tool that has the potential to make content creation incredibly accessible," added Roiland. "I don't know how many years away we are, but all you will need to be is somebody with some big ideas."

And now, we have a look back at how the sixth season of the Emmy Award-winning Adult Swim animated series ended. And while some folks are seeing it as a good sign that Rick is willing to not go "Moby Dick" with his hunt for Rick Prime and let Morty (and hopefully others) be a part of it. That for the first time, Rick isn't choosing the "loner" route. Personally, I'm not so sure. I actually ended the season more concerned for Morty's well-being than ever before. Because Morty's already warned us about the problems with Rick's "obsessions" with the Voltron-themed episode. But now we're talking about an obsession that involves hunting down the Rick who killed his family, and that leaves me feeling like Rick won't be as open to "other viewpoints" as we would've hoped he would be at this point. But the other reason why we're sharing the video above? We can't shake this feeling that we should look it over carefully for clues. Clues to what? We're not sure. We'll get back to you on that one. In fact, let's meet up in a week or so and see what we came up with… cool?

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