Photo/Illutration A page from “TEZUKA2023 Black Jack: A Machine Heart–Heartbeat Mark II” ((c)TEZUKA2023/ Tezuka Productions Co.)

There was a time when manga artist Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) hadn’t even started working on the latest episode of his iconic “Black Jack” series on the copy deadline day.

Having just pulled an all-nighter finishing another work, Tezuka’s brain had turned to mush and he had his back to the wall. Still, he somehow managed to come up with several story ideas for the series on the genius doctor without a license.

In their book “Black Jack Sosaku Hiwa” (literally, “Unknown episodes behind the creation of Black Jack”), co-authors Koji Yoshimoto and Masaru Miyazaki quote Tezuka as saying, “I think up four ideas ... If the editor gives me the thumbs-down, then I come up with another four and ask the editor to choose from them.”

Tezuka never skimped on time and energy for his works. He’d just tighten his headband and draw them.

Is this sort of creative zeal now a relic of the past? I just read a new “Black Jack” episode created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). The story was about saving a sick girl who has a mechanical heart.

The editorial team behind the new episode said that this AI had “studied” past episodes of the series, with the team asking it to generate story ideas based on what they suggested. And the AI went further and created entirely new characters for the episode.

The editors commented that the real appeal of working with AI was that, unlike a human cartoonist, it simply kept generating new plots, impervious to how many times its ideas were rejected.

Technology advances rapidly. This time, humans held the reins of creativity, but the day may come when they are nothing more than assistants to AI.

And when that happens, how will the resulting work reveal the “creator’s” passion for self-expression? What value will the creative process have? Many thoughts are swirling in my head.

In a past episode of “Black Jack,” there is a scene where the protagonist is challenged by his mentor: “Don’t you think it is presumptuous of a human being to think they can control the life and death of any living being?”

If AI wrote those words, would they still move us humans?

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 28

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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