Karla Ortiz
Role at the time: Concept artist and illustrator, replying on X
Statement summary
Concept artist Karla Ortiz replied to Sweeney that Epic is using generative AI for art and said all artistic generative AI models were trained on the work of artists like her without credit, consent or compensation, which she said is why artists are suing AI companies.
“Hey, you’re using GenAi for art. Consider this a friendly reminder: All Artistic GenAi models are trained off the works of artists like myself. This was done so without our credit, consent or compensation. Which is why artists like myself are suing GenAi companies.”
Reply by artist Karla Ortiz on October 12, 2026 to Tim Sweeney's post about Epic's AI pivot.
Why we used this label
The reference point is Epic Games' move to make AI central to its game development, as Tim Sweeney described it on October 12, 2026 and as Bloomberg reported for an unannounced Disney shooter to be made as an AI-first production. Ortiz addresses Epic's use of generative AI for art and objects that the models were trained on artists' work "without our credit, consent or compensation", a criticism of the practice, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because she frames the post as a friendly reminder; it loses because the reminder states only an objection.