AI Generative Assets

This article is an FAQ regarding the use of and my position on AI Generated Content. If you have any questions, please let me know. You can reach me on Twitter or Bluesky.

• What's your stance on AI Generation?

Technology advances far faster than law and legislation—as a result, the protections that could (and should) be in place to protect artists have been lackluster, as AI quickly overwhelms the internet and entices businesses, customers, corporations and patrons alike, to avoid giving dues to the artists who have endured challenges, and enjoyed the privileges of pursuing their artistic interests, while too often struggling making an income that helps support their lives.
Without protections, Artists are in danger ad currently suffering the consequences of of AI generated products overtaking the market, depriving them of opportunity and audiences, and resulting in a world where yet another field is dominated by media generated by computers and consumed by people who have become used to instant gratification and cheap mass-media entertainment.
There is a place for AI (particularly in data-driven fields), and there are valid arguments for its continued development and implementation. But between industries that don't care about people, the rampant use of copyrighted material to train AI platforms, and the genuine harm being done to artists who are faced with even more challenges in meeting their needs, I will never endorse the use of AI generated content, and will only personally use it when I feel it does not transcend the arbitrary limits I place upon myself (personal ethical boundaries) and it serves a generalistic purpose that will be, at most, minimally incorporated in a final product (I'll use AI to generate sample sets or provide conceptual imagry, but will never use AI generated content as a final product).

• What AI generated content is being used here?

When I am doing world-building, images come and go in my mind, and I can either sketch the concept that I have in mind, or produce a more detailed AI generated image to represent an approximation. This saves the overall vibes or aesthetics of a concept, as well as providing a high quality reference I can look to at anytime. Originally, I used generated images as placeholder content, but I have since changed my mind and will no longer use generated images as placeholders, and never ever will I use generated images as final products.
Any AI visual content I use is drafted through Bing Create or ChatGPT, and data analysis is done through ChatGPT. Even for private concept purposes, when generating images, I will never use any generation that has the appearance of digital or traditional art. For data analysis, I use ChatGPT as an assistant for quickly finding synonyms, getting past word block, making grammatical adjustments (correcting use of repeated words more quickly than find/replace), managing Excel spreadsheets, and helping with CSS editing. I will never, ever ask ChatGPT to create any new ideas or concepts.
(As a matter of fact, I find that in order to get ChatGPT to give me the results I want, I usually end up typing out the content that ends up being used anyway, thus making ChatGPT practically irrelevant for writing purposes.)

• Do you see hypocracy in not endorsing, but still using AI?

Yes, in the same way a bodybuilder might use steroids, but not endorse their use—their personal needs and their understanding of the resources they make use of result in a selfishly aware position. AI generation is here, and it's not going away—making use of it comes down to one's personal subjective belief (which then informs our actions), and code of ethics.
If you're a puritan who views all AI as evil, then you already have your position on this matter and I won't change your mind (nor do I want to, as I think you hold the most ethically correct position). If you're a tech-bro who thinks technology is the key to advancing society and believes "prompt creator" is a job title that makes you an artist, you're an impediment to societal well-being, and you should close this tab and move on...unless you're open to changing your mind.
My position is AI has a place in assisting with development: whether that's in the industry, in personal life, or elsewhere, AI can serve as a valuable assistant. But using AI content as the final product in a personal or private project is inadvisable, and using it in published or professional work is utterly reprehensible. We already see on Google Images and other websearch sites that AI is feeding on itself: generating AI content, which is used to train AI on generating content, which generates more AI content, which is used to train...etcetera.
AI (and its use) should never come at the cost of human well-being. AI generated images can provide valuable conceptualization for independent artists and worldbuilders, but the risk of becoming overreliant or obsessed with it is too great. As a potential safeguard, I firmly believe that AI "art" should never, ever be copyrightable: if someone prompts an AI to generate content, that generated content should be public domain, with no exceptions.
From there, the more complicated issue is determining whether AI generated content that's modified by a human being (based on how much of it was modified by a human), ceases to be primarily AI generated and becomes majority human-created...but for now, until that problem is given an answer, I'm more than willing to take a hardline stance on the side of protecting full-time artists.
This article will be updated as my position evolves through new information and perspectives.

*This article was updated 11OCT2024 after listening to more discussion regarding AI, and reflecting on my usages and personal beliefs regarding contemporary 'AI' technologies. Particular changes are a more hard-line position in favor of artists, dissatisfaction with AI companies, more specifically acknowledging my own use of AI in my works, and identifying that I believe people who are absolutely anti-AI likely hold an ethically superior position. I'll likely come back and provide more updates after more self-reflection.