Glamorous precarity: graphic illustrators in the twilight of artificial intelligence

Abstract This article maps the horizon of pressing activities and concerns among graphic illustrators in Eastern Europe, during the emergence of intelligent text and image generators. Drawing from a theoretical framework in cultural materialist anthropology, it reveals how seemingly opposing categories like economy-art and local–global interact and reshape under technological change. The article shows how technological revolutions prompt a reconsideration of relationships and values, affecting everything from labor valuation to market expectations. By analyzing these shifts, the study opens new perspectives for understanding some paradoxes: why it is so easy to set the price for “undervalued talent,” why massive investments in AI persist despite having revenues that are minimal relative to costs, and why sometimes skills gain more appreciation than creativity. Ultimately, the article provides insights into the adaptive strategies within creative industries and the latent tensions that arise when automation disrupts long-standing beliefs about the role of creativity, talent, and labor in the economy.