--- title: "Tim Burton Horrified by AI-Generated Art That Copies His Style" description: "Someone got an AI art generator to copy the illustration style of Tim Burton — and the director himself is having none of it." date: "2023-09-14" modified: "2023-09-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tim-burton-ai-art" categories: - "Art" - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Future Society" tags: - "ai art" - "buzzfeed" - "disney" - "the digest" --- # Tim Burton Horrified by AI-Generated Art That Copies His Style ![Someone got an AI art generator to copy the illustration style of Tim Burton — and the director himself is having none of it.]() *BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 10: Tim Burton attends the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 10, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/WireImage) \Image: Frazer Harrison via Getty Images\* ## Soul Searching Someone got an AI art generator to crib Tim Burton's instantly-recognizable style — and the famed gothy director himself is having none of it. In an [interview with *The Independent*](), Burton blasted *BuzzFeed* — which, we must remind you, has been suffering its own [AI debacle]() in recent months — for its [listicle]() depicting Disney characters in his signature style. "I can’t describe the feeling it gives you," the filmmaker told the British newspaper of seeing his style mimicked by machines. "It reminded me of when other cultures say, 'Don’t take my picture because it is taking away your soul.'" Burton's comments are reminiscent of fellow creative Nick Cave, who has twice now taken to his blog to [lambaste AI]() for stealing the soul from art — [including his own](). "What it does is it sucks something from you," Burton explained. "It takes something from your soul or psyche; that is very disturbing, especially if it has to do with you. It’s like a robot taking your humanity, your soul." https://twitter.com/CultureCrave/status/1700963986098069977 ## Creative Types In the wide-ranging interview, which touched on everything from his late friend the actor Paul Ruebens to his "troubled relationship with Disney," Burton said that for him, art has always been a "therapeutic thing," suggesting that reducing it to computer-generated imitations may take that beneficial psychological aspect out of the process for artists going forward. Cave, too, has maintained in his anti-AI epistles that the tech negates the human creative process. "ChatGPT rejects any notions of creative struggle, that our endeavours animate and nurture our lives giving them depth and meaning," [Cave wrote in a blog post]() published last month. "It rejects that there is a collective, essential and unconscious human spirit underpinning our existence, connecting us all through our mutual striving." Unlike the "Red Right Hand" singer, however, Burton did make one conciliatory admission: that some of the *BuzzFeed* imitations were "very good," though he wouldn't say which ones. **More on AI and art:** [*Government Refuses to Copyright Award-Winning AI Artwork*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()