Science fiction writers, Comic-Con says goodbye to AI

In recent months, some major players in science fiction and popular culture have taken stronger stances against generative AI.

Separate decisions by San Diego Comic-Con and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) illustrate the depth of opposition to AI in some creative communities – although they are not alone, with music distribution platforms. Bandcamp also recently banned generative AI.

Back in December, when the SFWA announced that they were updating the rules for the Nebula Awards. Works written entirely in large language models will not be eligible, while authors who use LLM “at any point during the writing process” must declare their use, allowing voters to make their own decisions about whether such use will affect support.

As Jason Sanford reported on her Genre Grapevine newsletterThis change attracted a backlash for apparently opening the door to work partially created by LLMs. SFWA Board of Directors issued an apology a few days laterwrote, “Our approach and words were wrong and we apologize for the unpleasant situation and distrust.”

The rules were revised again, now stating that works “written, in whole or in part, with generative large language modeling (LLM) tools are not eligible” for the Nebula Award and that the work will be disqualified if LLM is used at any point during creation.

At follow up postSanford said he’s glad to see SFWA listening to its members, and that he refuses to use AI genes in his own fiction writing — “not only because of this theft but also because the tool is uncreative and defeats the whole point of the story.” However, he writes that important questions need to be answered about how the use of LLM will be defined, especially since “these generative AI products are being forced on everyone by major companies.”

“If you use any online search engine or computer product today, it is likely that you are using something powered by or connected to LLM,” said Sanford. “Therefore, we must be careful that writers who use word processing and research tools with an LLM component are not unfairly disqualified from awards like Nebulas or attacked by readers and other writers.

The massive annual San Diego Comic-Con faced similar controversy this month after artists noticed a rule that allowed AI-generated art to be displayed — but not sold — at the convention’s art fair. After the artist complained, the rules be silent instead of talking“Materials created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in part or in whole, are not allowed in art shows.”

While Comic-Con’s apology was less public than SFWA’s, several artists pointed to an email response from show art head Glen Wooten, who said the previous rules had been in place “for several years” and were effective as a deterrent, as no one entered AI-generated art into the show.

“But this problem becomes more of a problem, so more strident language is necessary: ​​NO! Plain and simple,” Wooten reportedly said.

It’s probably safe to assume that other organizations will announce a similar stance this year – and that the community will continue to debate larger issues.