Artificial intelligence is sparking debate within the underground zine community, pitching the technology’s promise of speed and accessibility against a decades-old tradition of hand-drawn, photocopied, and deliberately imperfect self-publishing. The conflict, described by some as the scene’s “Dylan-goes-electric moment”, is forcing artists and publishers to ask whether a medium born of scissors, glue, and instinct can survive an era of generative algorithms.
Zines have long been a vehicle for cultural revolutions — from queer activism and Black feminism to the riot grrrl punk movement — with iconic titles such as Sniffin’ Glue and Sweet-Thang emerging along the way. The form originated in 1930s science-fiction fandom and evolved into a platform for marginalised voices, defined by a do-it-yourself ethos that prizes community over profit and authenticity over polish. Typically self-published on ordinary paper in small print runs, often hand-illustrated, zines are supposed to feel “handmade and scrappy”, as Philadelphia-based video editor and illustrator Rachel Goldfinger puts it.
Now, however, some creatives, designers and artists have begun experimenting with AI, causing alarm among purists. “AI is eliminating a lot of people’s ability to think critically for themselves,” said Goldfinger, who has published an anti-AI zine titled I Should Be Allowed To Think — named after a 1994 song by the American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. “Of all art forms that I partake in, I feel like zines are the ones that make the least amount of sense to use AI for. They’re supposed to be handmade and scrappy.”
Experiments with AI in a handmade world
Jeremy Leslie, founder of the London-based magazine retailer MagCulture, has observed AI creeping into zine culture. “The zines using AI that I’m aware of have used the technology knowingly, as an experiment and often to make a point about its inability to match human creativity,” he said. Notably, most zines using AI are online-only, where the technology has been employed to help design layouts, generate artwork, and make the creative experience more efficient.
Product designer Jesse Pimenta and writer Cheyce Batchelor produced a 97-page 90s-inspired zine using Figma’s AI tools, praising the fact it allowed them to “reorder things without a lot of mental bandwidth”. In 2023, IT engineer Steve Simkins used AI to help produce an online photo zine while working at a US tech startup. He used ChatGPT to code and publish the website hosting the zine, but produced the content himself. “I asked ChatGPT to help create an online zine with HTML and I provided the image links. It would give me some HTML, I would open it in my browser, then ask ChatGPT to adjust bits and pieces until I had something I liked,” he explained. At the time, he viewed AI as a “democratising software” that offered opportunities for artists lacking technical skills, “where AI could help enhance [their] pieces while still keeping the primary art itself”.
Critics push back with anti-AI zines
Despite these experiments, zinemakers remain among the most vocal critics of using AI to create art. Some are producing counter-AI zines in protest. Maddie Marshall, a Melbourne-based video editor and illustrator, spent a year working on a 92-page zine opposing the technology, which she now sells on the online craft marketplace Etsy. Marshall was inspired after facing pressure to use AI at work. “I felt the urge to spread the word about my opinions on it and get people to question why these technologies are being pushed on us so heavily,” she said.
Goldfinger created her anti-AI zine because she feels AI is making it harder for artists to secure jobs. Using AI to streamline her work, she said, goes against her creative principles. “I don’t respect it on any level,” she said. All of her zines are handmade. “I don’t want to expedite the process. That ruins the point for me.”
Ione Gamble, the London-based founder of Polyester zine — a feminist arts and culture publication founded in 2014 — said AI is “not something that we use or support the use of. Whether that’s through image generation or writing. We run all of our submitted articles through an AI checker now to ensure that we’re not publishing AI writing.”
Zoe Thompson, who founded Sweet-Thang zine in 2017 as a community print zine publishing work by Black creatives globally, said the desire to create art is an important feeling that using AI directly counters. “It kind of feels like you’re experimenting with a tool but there’s no artistry there, which is kind of sad. I feel like the beauty of art and creation lies in that slowness.”
The core conflict: efficiency versus handmade ethos
At the heart of the dispute lies a fundamental tension between AI’s promise of speed and the deliberately slow, tactile nature of zine-making. The “handmade and scrappy” quality that defines zines — the deliberate imperfections, the raw energy, the messiness of human expression — stands in stark contrast to the polished, often sterile output of AI. Many creators argue that AI eliminates the critical thinking and personal experience that give zines their cultural value. The DIY philosophy, which prioritises authenticity over commercial gain, is seen as incompatible with a technology that, critics say, devalues human creativity.
Beyond aesthetic concerns, there are economic and ethical dimensions. Artists fear AI will make it harder to secure jobs and reduce earning opportunities. Significant unease exists about AI models being trained on copyrighted material without consent or remuneration. In the UK, this debate has taken on particular urgency. Experts have warned that the country risks “losing its creative sector” due to the rapid rise of AI. The UK government has faced criticism for a stance that permits AI developers to use copyrighted material unless creators explicitly opt out, shifting the burden of protection onto artists. There have been calls for government backing of new labelling for AI-produced work and a robust licensing framework to ensure fair compensation. A cross-party parliamentary group on Music has recommended an AI Act, clear labelling of AI-generated content, and protection of creative “personality”.
Can AI and zine-making coexist? “I mean, it has to because AI exists. But I’m not sure it will be harmonious,” said Gamble. “I think zine making in particular is such a grassroots process. All you need is a bit of paper, a pen, and some things to collage with. There’s a low barrier to entry.”
Three years after making his photo zine, Steve Simkins’ perspective on AI has shifted. “In the realm of zines I think it [AI] can be used as a tool to produce,” he said, but fundamentally he believes art is “made by people and for people”. He said there need to be more conversations about the use of AI in art. “I can see two sides of the coin. Most importantly, I think you can get really exhausted getting caught up in trying to police what everyone else does when it comes to art.”
Should a day come when AI zines are being pitched to distributors, MagCulture’s Leslie is relaxed about bringing them into the mix. “We’re not interested in whether or not a zine has been produced using AI,” he said. “We want to see interesting, innovative, and engaging zines. If one has been created using AI and is intriguing in its own right, then great, we will support it.”
