Suhrkamp uses AI-generated covers for Trump and Musk books

German publisher Suhrkamp has released two special editions in its 'edition suhrkamp' series featuring AI-generated cover portraits of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. The Trump cover, for Peter Sloterdijk's 'Der Fürst und seine Erben', adapts Altobello Melone's 'Portrait of a Gentleman' (c. 1513, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo) using ChatGPT. The Musk cover, for Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian's 'Muskismus', adapts Abraham Bosse's frontispiece for Hobbes' 'Leviathan' (1651) using Grok AI. Both covers were designed under the concept of Willy Fleckhaus by Rolf Staudt, with AI image generation credited to ChatGPT and Grok respectively. The covers mark a departure from Suhrkamp's historically typographic, image-averse design ethos established by Fleckhaus in the 1960s. The Trump portrait shows him in Renaissance garb as a gentiluomo, while Musk appears crowned, armored with car silhouettes, holding a sword and rocket. The books, published spring 2025, are reportedly selling well.