The end of REAL romance? Retired steamy new model warns AI imagery threatens to ‘wipe out’ industry

A retired cover model for a romance novel has criticized the rise of AI technology as it threatens to decimate the industry and cost thousands of jobs.

Jason Baca, who amassed more than 540 covers in a lucrative ten-year career, said AI-generated art was a “surprise” to the mainstream book trade and now has the potential to “wipe it out.”

“I’ll give it five years from now and there won’t be a need for a model, an art director, a photographer or even a cover designer,” he said.

His comments come as the rise of artificial intelligence, especially ChatGPT, has threatened numerous industries from finance and research to art and advertising.

The vulgar cover model warned that AI will threaten the entire publishing industry

In the world of raunchy romance novels, the cover star can dictate how a reader connects with the book and how well it flies off the shelves.

But Baca insisted that the varied behind-the-scenes roles involved in making a tome are also all at risk — and once publishers embrace AI-generated art, there’s “no going back to the traditional ways.”

“Not organizing a shoot a month in advance, not setting up a makeup artist or letting art directors express their vision to the models, would be none of that,” he said.

“Instead, it will be a guy who works at the publishing house and knows how to use the right keywords for the book he’s making a cover for.”

Baca started out as a fitness model, but he said the breaks he earned early in his career could soon be eliminated for the next generation of stars.

“The opportunities I had were plentiful compared to what will happen once AI software takes hold and it gets known,” he said.

Baca warned that within five years “there will be no need for a model, an art director, a photographer or even a cover designer”

The model retired from the industry in 2019, after a decade of being one of the most in-demand stars

Artificial intelligence has already transformed the way many industries do business, with high-profile tech companies like Meta introducing their day-to-day operations while laying off large segments of their workforce.

But its impact on publishing is just beginning, with Baca admitting there was “not a single rumble” on the horizon.

“At the moment it’s still in its infancy,” he said.

“You might see some covers for the self-published authors right now, but once the bigger publishers get their hands on things, I see it’s going to be a challenge for every cover artist and everyone in the book cover department to get to work there. to stay .’

Baca was a familiar face in the romantic book aisle for many years where he set the record for the most covers of any model at over 540, surpassing Italian heartthrob Fabio who had 462.

He decided to retire from modeling in 2019, but now fears the industry he once led will become obsolete.

The star told DailyMail.com that unless something is done to halt the expansion of AI, there will be ‘no going back to the traditional ways’

Publisher Tor was criticized last year for using this AI-generated cover

Last year, publisher Tor came under fire after it used an AI-generated image for the cover of Christopher Paolini’s book Fractal Noise.

Viewers quickly realized that the art was created by artificial intelligence rather than professionals, in the most high-profile case yet from a publisher turning to the technology.

In a statement after the backlash, Tor apologized for the move, saying it didn’t realize the art was AI-generated, but still decided to stick with the same design.

But Baca said the rise of AI is more dangerous than many think – and fears his entire industry risks being wiped out.

“All the ghosts that would make a turn, who knows what all will become of them?” he said.

‘And yes, I do hope that AI does not turn out to be a success and that the publishers hire a model, a photographer, an art director and a cover designer again in the old-fashioned way.’