TL;DR: This is a complicated issue, and I have complicated thoughts about it. If you believe any and all use of generative AI technology is wrong in all circumstances, you’re not going to like what’s coming.

General Disclosure: Some images you see on my website and social media accounts have been created using generative AI technology.

I concede that many of these programs have been developed through the unauthorized use of artwork by artists that did not consent to having their work included and have not been compensated for that inclusion. I support all legal efforts for artists everywhere to recover compensation from this infringement on their rights. I look forward to the inevitable day (probably not all that long from now) when legislation and court rulings force accountability onto the companies that did this, which I hope will result in the rise of more ethically-sourced AI programs.

That being said–I’m a starving artist too. I’ve never had the funds to commission art for my social media and blog posts. I hope that someday I will, but I will only get to that point if I can keep my expenses down now. I’ve never employed or been able to employ a freelance graphic artist to create work for my website or social media either, so no one has directly lost a job because of me.

Usage and Disclosure Policy

Since I do recognize the injustice of profiting off of other people’s misfortune, here’s the policy under which I operate:

  1. I don’t pay for AI generation services. Not only can I not afford it, I don’t want the developers of morally questionable software to be making any more money than absolutely necessary.
  2. I don’t use AI-generated art to make money for myself either. Mostly, I use it to jazz up my social media and blog posts. Occasionally I will make swag from it (such as Monster of the Week stickers) that I give away for free. That’s it.
  3. Any of my work that I *do* charge for (i.e. my books) is, to the best of my knowledge, AI-free. That includes storylines, cover art, audiobook narration, and any images that appear on items I sell for cash money.
  4. I label all AI-generated images I use on this site. I try to do so as much as I can across my social media accounts as well.

Is this morally gray? Perhaps. Does it mean you can’t trust me? I don’t think so, but that’s your call. Either way, the fact remains that AI isn’t going anywhere, and people (including major companies) are absolutely using it to their full advantage as I write this. Maybe I’m jumping off a bridge with everyone else, but that’s my choice to make. We all have to decide how much or how little we are going to interact with AI, whether out of preference or necessity. The moment I don’t need to use it anymore, I won’t. But right now, this is where things are.