The relationship between artificial intelligence and the arts community has been a complicated one, especially when it comes to transformative fandom. Many fans utilize tools like Character.ai bots as they create their content, though some are wary of text generators being used on their fanfiction. This has prompted some people to avoid creating content altogether due to the fear of an AI-dominated “flood”.
Recently, there has been a strange second consequence arising from the fear of AI: someone is accusing non-AI fan writers of “AI-using cheaters” and no one knows why. It is unclear who is behind this baseless accusation, though the impact on the creative community within fandom circles has been damaging, making it harder for non-AI fan writers to create meaningful content.
Character.ai is a company that works to aid fanfiction writers, allowing them to use AI-generated results to improve the content they are creating. Character.ai looks to bridge the gap between creativity and AI technology, and those behind the company view collaborative AI as the future of content creation.
Aibo Zhao is the co-founder of Character.ai and a passionate advocate of AI-assisted creativity. She believes that this technology has the potential to revolutionize fanfiction writing and is aiming to ensure that it is used responsibly, highlighting the importance of data ownership and security. Zhao is a firm believer that the creative tools provided by the Character.ai system should be used to enhance the story-telling experience of fanwriters, rather than replacing their creativity altogether.
Ultimately, it is important to note that AI is advancing quickly and there is a definite need for caution and regulation. Nevertheless, this technology has the potential to vastly improve the creativity and originality of fanfictionauthors and should be further explored. In the meantime, the baseless accusations against non-AI fanwriters should be taken seriously and the person or persons behind them should be immediately identified.
