AI and background images
tldr: my main qualm is that ai would never fit in with this site. it does not belong on this site and should never belong on this site. while I already have things to say about the use of ai graphics/profile pictures, i think it is even worse when this comes from an official administrative decision. I implore you to rethink this decision. I know you've already made the images, so the damage has already been done in some regards, but there is still time and opportunity for you to stop further damage. this is not where you would want to go; please rethink this choice.
Hi, I know this conversation has kind of passed but I really hope you read this, Zach.
I want to thank you for all of the work you have done with site. It has really come a long way from what you first had in mind, I am sure, and it has grown into something that has really made an impact on a lot of people.
As stated previously in this thread, although I did not get a chance to expand on it, I do not support the idea of using AI to generate images, especially on a site where human creativity should be held to the highest regard.
I acknowledge all of the reasons people have provided for why AI is detrimental, and I fully agree with them. But I am sure you've also heard them before, and perhaps chooses to turn a blind eye to them or use AI despite this. I am not trying to put you in the wrong for this; I understand the instant gratification of gen ai, and how you might feel like it will fit your vision perfectly because you are the one "creating" it (sending in a prompt).
But the use of gen ai is a trap. Because I will tell you something bluntly, Zach, I feel like using gen ai to make your backgrounds will never fit your vision.
Yes, we'll get to see a cool owl, or maybe a part of Hogwarts we've never seen before, but here I quote yourself. I remember distinctly being around when you decided to test adding advertisements to the site. I was a little saddened, so needless to say I was absolutely relieved when you said you would not include them. And so, directly from your post on ads:
This is how I feel about this situation, except this time it is about the implementation of gen ai backgrounds. I just can't accept them; it goes against everything this site is supposed to be. Bouncing off your own points: gen ai did not exist 20 years ago, and gen ai, to many of us, would also not be a form of escapism. We hate seeing it already -- it has no soul, no meaning, nothing "human" about it. Don't make us see it here too. This is not only where people come to escape, but also where people come to create.
Because, Zach, I beg the question, what is art if not human made? And to me, and I'm sure I can speak for others here as well, this site is not just a cute little place for me to lose track of time.
The argument is that our art is not threatened, because we are not allowing ai in writing. But any use of gen ai in any space that is as creative as ours, I feel like almost a violation of the very meaning our art is supposed to be. Human made and made with passion. And that was exactly what I loved so much about receiving your earlier updates. You always did everything with so much passion, from starting this website when you were thirteen.
Zach, I truly believe you have good intentions going into this. You want this site to be something you've always imagined, to fit the aesthetic that you have chosen. And I totally get that. But I think ai would never fit your aesthetic. I would only fit the most shallow "art style" or perhaps what you thought the hogwarts castle might look like, but it would never have a place in the soul of this site you've always imagined. A place brought together by humans who love what they do, who want to preserve what they do, and who want to be creative and artistic.
Because the shallowest aesthetic is not everything. Perhaps ai can make something a million times faster than any artist, draw with better proportions or directions or styles or any argument you want to have. But still. It is not art, and this site is built upon art.
Genuinely, hio has given me light in unimaginable darkness by giving me art I can hold onto and be a part of, and I thank you for that, and all of my writing partners for making it possible. But the use of ai images, even though no ai writing as been produced, just goes against everything this site is supposed to be for me.
I love this site. It won't be the same if ai images are in use.
Hi, I know this conversation has kind of passed but I really hope you read this, Zach.
I want to thank you for all of the work you have done with site. It has really come a long way from what you first had in mind, I am sure, and it has grown into something that has really made an impact on a lot of people.
As stated previously in this thread, although I did not get a chance to expand on it, I do not support the idea of using AI to generate images, especially on a site where human creativity should be held to the highest regard.
I acknowledge all of the reasons people have provided for why AI is detrimental, and I fully agree with them. But I am sure you've also heard them before, and perhaps chooses to turn a blind eye to them or use AI despite this. I am not trying to put you in the wrong for this; I understand the instant gratification of gen ai, and how you might feel like it will fit your vision perfectly because you are the one "creating" it (sending in a prompt).
But the use of gen ai is a trap. Because I will tell you something bluntly, Zach, I feel like using gen ai to make your backgrounds will never fit your vision.
Yes, we'll get to see a cool owl, or maybe a part of Hogwarts we've never seen before, but here I quote yourself. I remember distinctly being around when you decided to test adding advertisements to the site. I was a little saddened, so needless to say I was absolutely relieved when you said you would not include them. And so, directly from your post on ads:
Most importantly, I just can’t accept them. They go against everything that, to me, defines the soul of this site: a glimpse of what the Internet was like twenty years ago—spaces created by passionate people, free of ads, privacy issues, and social media, simply bringing together individuals who share the same passions and want to escape the real world for a while.
This is how I feel about this situation, except this time it is about the implementation of gen ai backgrounds. I just can't accept them; it goes against everything this site is supposed to be. Bouncing off your own points: gen ai did not exist 20 years ago, and gen ai, to many of us, would also not be a form of escapism. We hate seeing it already -- it has no soul, no meaning, nothing "human" about it. Don't make us see it here too. This is not only where people come to escape, but also where people come to create.
Because, Zach, I beg the question, what is art if not human made? And to me, and I'm sure I can speak for others here as well, this site is not just a cute little place for me to lose track of time.
Hio is a really fun space for me, but I don't solely stay on hio because it is fun. To me, hio is also a place of art and literature, and stories that mean something much more than life. And that is the entire point of this no? To create something with a soul. Something that almost breathes on it own, even if our pens still guide the lives they lead.We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion.
The argument is that our art is not threatened, because we are not allowing ai in writing. But any use of gen ai in any space that is as creative as ours, I feel like almost a violation of the very meaning our art is supposed to be. Human made and made with passion. And that was exactly what I loved so much about receiving your earlier updates. You always did everything with so much passion, from starting this website when you were thirteen.
Zach, I truly believe you have good intentions going into this. You want this site to be something you've always imagined, to fit the aesthetic that you have chosen. And I totally get that. But I think ai would never fit your aesthetic. I would only fit the most shallow "art style" or perhaps what you thought the hogwarts castle might look like, but it would never have a place in the soul of this site you've always imagined. A place brought together by humans who love what they do, who want to preserve what they do, and who want to be creative and artistic.
Because the shallowest aesthetic is not everything. Perhaps ai can make something a million times faster than any artist, draw with better proportions or directions or styles or any argument you want to have. But still. It is not art, and this site is built upon art.
Genuinely, hio has given me light in unimaginable darkness by giving me art I can hold onto and be a part of, and I thank you for that, and all of my writing partners for making it possible. But the use of ai images, even though no ai writing as been produced, just goes against everything this site is supposed to be for me.
I love this site. It won't be the same if ai images are in use.