Reclaiming Creative Agency: A Virtue Ethics Perspective on Human-AI Collaboration in Motion Comics

Abstract

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has radically reorganised the production models of digital animation, and AI-driven motion comics have catalysed a transition towards high-efficiency production paradigms in the creative sectors. However, this technological empowerment hides an emerging ethical dilemma on the creative agency. Creators face 'moral deskilling', that is the erosion of narrative and emotional articulation through excessive automation, resulting in professional identity being hollowed out. This study uses a comparative case analysis with a theoretical lens of Virtue Ethics to create a tripartite analytical framework of Techne, Phronesis, and Virtue. It is through this framework that the research methodically dissects the processes of agentic weakening and suggests a path towards reconstruction. The results indicate that by using intent-focused ethical practices, creators ought to repurpose AI as a collaborative prosthetic based on a virtuous agent. This transition allows moving to passive operators to the so-called Virtuous Creator, thus ensuring the ethical autonomy in human-AI co-creation and avoiding the danger of colonisation of technology. On the one hand, theoretically, the given paper expands the scope of application of Virtue Ethics to the sphere of digital creativity; on the other hand, it provides practical recommendations regarding industry ethics standards and the recovery of creative agency, creating a sustainable synergy between humanity, art, and technology.