I've been in the 3D scene long enough to witness countless debates about how DAZ “isn’t real 3D art” because it relies on pre-made models, assets, and shortcuts. Over time, though, I noticed that perception shifting—especially as more and more successful visual novels started to gain traction, many of which used DAZ as their foundation. Eventually, DAZ became almost a standard tool for that niche.
I think the same kind of transition will happen with AI. Right now, there’s a divide: people who grew up with or created traditional visual novels often compare them to the new wave of AI-assisted works, pointing out differences in process, authenticity, or effort. But there’s also a growing audience discovering these games today—and for them, AI tools won’t feel like an exception or a controversy, just the norm. That new audience is likely to embrace AI much faster, and with time the stigma will fade, just like it did with DAZ.
Of course, for that to happen, AI-generated images still need to improve a lot—no more glaring anatomy mistakes, no obvious visual errors, and ideally an easier way to achieve consistent styles and recurring characters. (Sure, you can train Loras or custom models, but let’s be honest—that’s not something everyone can or wants to do.)
What’s also interesting is that the debate almost always revolves around images. Nobody seems to complain as much when AI is used to generate music or code, which is strange to me. Somehow, the backlash is disproportionately aimed at visual art, even though all of these creative fields are being shaped by the same technological wave.
