Science fiction writers, Comic-Con is saying good things to AI

In recent months, some of the biggest players in science fiction and popular culture have been strongly opposed to artificial AI.

The different decisions of the San Diego Comic-Con and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) show the depth of AI criticism in other areas of production – although they are not the only ones, which have a music distribution platform. Bandcamp also disabled the AI ​​release recently.

Back in December, the SFWA announced that it was changing its rules for the Nebula Awards. Works written in a large variety of languages ​​would not be eligible, while authors who used LLMs “at any time when writing” had to disclose the use, allowing voters to decide for themselves whether the use would affect their grant.

As Jason Sanford pointed out his article on Genre Grapevinethis change recently backfired because it seemed to open the door to a career created by LLMs. SFWA’s Board of Directors he apologized a few days laterhe writes, “Our actions and words were wrong and we apologize for the trouble and mistrust we caused.”

The rules have also been changed, now they say that works that are “written, in whole or in part, with generative big language model (LLM) tools are not eligible” for the Nebula Awards and the work will be banned if LLMs were used at any time in the creation.

In the next stepSanford said he was pleased to see the SFWA listening to its members, and said it opposes the use of gen AI in its fiction – “not because of this theft but because the tools are not really creative and defeat the whole point of storytelling.” However, he wrote that important questions need to be answered about how the use of LLM will be defined, especially since “these AI products are being forced by large companies.”

“If you use a search engine on the Internet or a computer these days, chances are you’re using something powered by an LLM,” Sanford said. “Therefore, we must be careful that the authors who use the word changer and research tools and LLM sections are not disqualified from receiving awards like Nebulas or attacked by readers and other authors.”

The annual convention San Diego Comic-Con faced similar controversy this month after experts identified rules that allow AI-generated art to be displayed — but not sold — on the convention’s display. When artists complained, the rules were he changed quietly to say“Materials created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) either partially or fully, are not allowed in the art show.”

Although Comic-Con’s apology was less than SFWA’s, some artists shared an email response from show director Glen Wooten, who apparently said that the previous rules had been in place for “several years” and that they had been acting as a deterrent, since no one had entered AI-powered technology.

“But the problem is getting worse, so standard language is needed: NO! Plain and simple,” Wooten said.

It would be safe to assume that other organizations will announce similar developments this year – and that these communities will continue to debate on major issues.