Please DO NOT use AI to generate fanfic
Not reblogging because I don't want to bash, but a day after hearing that OpenAI has scraped AO3 to train their writing AI, I've just seen a Tumblr post with AI-generated 'fanfic'.
The billions of hours of labour that millions of fanfic writers have given, hoping for nothing in return but comments and kudos, has been taken and used to train a for profit AI owned by Elon Musk.
This is bad, guys.
It's bad because it's fundamentally wrong, because it endangers fan works, and because it's illegal.
Not illegal in the way that fanfiction is legally questionable but now broadly defensible by highly trained OTW lawyers. Illegal in the way that copyrighted works and characters have been used for profit to create works with Open AI.
It's wrong not just because the works are created without consent from the labour of authors who won't see a penny, but because the aim of AIs like Open AI is to replace the work of professional writers.
You may use Open AI to make a silly fanfic and have a good laugh, but that's not what Elon wants it for.
If you hate what's happened to Twitter, you should be really, really scared about this.
It endangers fanworks because it awakens the power and might of brands like Disney, who have mostly stopped trying to sue fancreators (although they really, really did used to, and not that long ago) for using their IP and especially for writing LGBTQ+ fic. They're mostly willing to turn a blind eye because we aren't making any money.
But that's not what Elon wants to do. And they might start caring again if they see Open AI writing Stucky (follow the link, it writes Stucky omegaverse fic at the merest mention of Steve) and it obviously does so because it used AO3 as its source material.
You and I know it's not any fic writer's fault, but I don't think Disney cares, and it's cheaper to battle AO3 than Elon.
I should stress: AO3 admins are aware. It's been reported. do not clog up their inboxes reporting it again.
The above reasons and more are all arsenal in the armoury of OTW's lawyers. But that's still a battle to fight.
In the meantime, the very least you can do is NOT USE OPEN AI.
Not for a laugh. Not for anything.
And please: spread the word.