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 of AI generated products overtaking the market, depriving them of opportunity, 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, 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 not endorse the use of AI generated content.

• What AI generated content is being used here?

Like capturing the memory of a lucid dream, AI generated imagry can be useful in very qickly preserving a general idea or concept. When I am doing world-building, images come and go, 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 higher quality reference that can be used temporarily until being replaced.
Any AI content found here is either imagry generated by Bing Create, or assisted through ChatGPT.
Bing Create: An AI Image Generator, it requires a written prompt to generate an image. An example of a prompt is:

A photo taken from the edge of a small river, sitting low in a sandy desert canyon surrounded by rocky walls. It's mid-day and sunny. Ahead is a sandstone dam, built into a medieval city with various levels of stacked sandstone buildings, fabrics, and painted walls.

When generating images, I will never use any generation that has the appearance of digital or traditional art.
ChatGPT: A text-based machine that I use as an assistant for finding synonyms, grammatical adjustments, Excel formulas, and CSS editing. I do not ask ChatGPT to create any new ideas or concepts.

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

Yes. 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. 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. Get out of here.
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 project is inadvisable, and in a published work it 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.
My stance is AI has its uses, but it should never come at the cost of human well-being. AI generated images can provide valuable conceptualization for independent artists and worldbuilders, but should never be the final product if possible. 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.