After Asimov's Gets Canceled For AI Art Cover, The Magazine Of Fantasy And Science Fiction Comes Under Fire

Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine came under fire a couple of months ago for hiring an artist who used AI in his work to create a cover, and now the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is under attack again from the same BlueSky mob demanding they be canceled. They’ve acquiesced, making a statement where they will not accept anything with AI, but will their editors even be able to tell?

In recent months, amateur artists and writers posing as professionals have gotten in a complete fit over artificial intelligence. It’s a fear situation, as AI is dashing their hopes and dreams of becoming true professionals, as it’s already been proven it can both create visual art and prose better than even professionals in their respective craft as far as the audience is concerned. Even though the technology is widely available, it doesn’t stop these people from shouting into the wind.

Asimov’s and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction are some of the only few paying short fiction markets left on that has a regular release, and so attempting to cancel the magazine doesn’t seem in the best interest of authors, but they are doing so anyway because of AI art used in the creation of one of the covers.

It started with Interzone Magazine sounding the alarm on the March/April 2025 issue that the art purchased from Shutterstock was indeed generated by AI, even though the artist who had it up had created several hand pieces before that.

Serial troll Jason Sanford jumped on the controversy on BlueSky, and several authors also began talking about it, one noting that May/June 2024 also used AI art. It appears to be a situation like normal that the editors can’t tell one way or another if it’s generative AI or human digital art, a testament to how good the art’s gotten.

Now, the sister title The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction's summer 2025 issue seems to have the same situation where people have become outraged again at the magazine for AI art on the cover.

After overwhelming backlash, editor Sheree Renee Thomas has issued a statement on the matter:

Thanks so much to the greater SFF community for taking the time to bring several important issues to our attention. Among those issues, we also have been informed that the artist F&SF commissioned some time ago under the previous ownership and publisher for a recent cover may have included some AI-generated art. We are so grateful for the heads up from the reading community! Their fast action and grace helped us—and right on time!

For our new works and the new artist contracts, we have a clear policy of not publishing or using AI-generated work. As such, we have decided to pull the cover art from the upcoming issue. We are committed to supporting talented, brilliant human artists, and your support is crucial in helping us uphold that standard.

Thanks again for your valuable feedback and continued support.

All best,

Sheree Renée Thomas Editor, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

Asimov’s, Analog and the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction are all under attack because of contract language about author moral rights already, adding fuel to the flame of the controversy where these authors seem intent on destroying some of the only paying markets left.

What do you think of F&SF virtue signaling against AI art when the industry is already in a dismal state where it costs far too much to cover art and pay for short fiction that fewer people are reading every year?

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