AI and The Death of Fandom

I'll admit I've read my fair share of fanfiction. It's a nice way to wind down at the end of the day - even if the blue light keeps me up. As I was scrolling for the perfect story on Archive of Our Own (AO3), I came across a very interesting tag: AI-Generated Text.

Sadly, this isn't the first time I've come across a tag or description like this one. Every time I see one though, my head spins. Why in the world would someone make AI generated fanfiction?

Most people don't want to admit that they read fanfiction, and even fewer admit they write it. Plus, AO3 doesn't have an algorithm like TikTok or Instagram that rewards creators for certain content. AO3 is simply an archive.

Due to the increase in AI generated works and the growth of generative AI in general, many authors have taken to privating their works to protect them from scraping: the process of an AI extracting information from digital sources to train from. Privating a work on AO3 means that those without an account are unable to view the work. This appears fine until you learn that the site has over 80,000 individuals waiting for an invitation to set up an account.

Large scraping campaigns make it harder for newcomers to join fandom spaces as writers and artists begin to lock down their accounts for protection. Without a constant stream of new people, fandoms begin to dwindle until all that's left is a few passionate individuals and unoriginal AI bots.

So what is generative AI and how does it come to create the works it pushes out?

Generative AI is a machine-learning model meaning it creates new outputs based on previously made inputs. Scraping is one way that generative AI obtains input.

But wait, if generative AI learns from the input already out there, doesn't that mean that it's practically stealing from creators? Well, yes. The individuals that have their works scraped often have no clue that this is happening and therefore can't consent to their work being used for AI learning. Some work is even copyrighted such as Harry Potter or the multitude of animes that have had their property stolen.

Even companies aren't safe anymore, seemingly a first for the United States.

At the beginning of generative AI's development, it was fairly obvious to even chronically offline people that a piece wasn't human made. The hands were wrong, the hair blended into the skin, or maybe there were just a bunch of random scribbles where words should be. Those details are being cleaned now, so much so that entire videos are AI generated. They look pretty convincing too.

The influx of AI generative art cuts into the true purpose of fanart - the love and passion for the fandom. Artists spend hours upon hours making single pieces, comics, and animations because they truly care about the fandom they're creating the piece for. Most of the time, there's no monetary reward either. Fanartists make their art simply out of the love for making art.

Not only is generative AI stealing from these amazing individuals, others are utilizing AI as a quick cop out to get as popular as possible with little effort. These are the individuals that I believe care little about the fandom they are supposedly a part of. AI "artists" are just clout chasing individuals who saw an opportunity and ran with it.

I'll admit, getting a lot of likes on a piece of fanart or thousands of reads on a fanfiction feels good. However, nothing feels quite as good as the process of making it, seeing everything come together. Every piece of art I make is a gift back to the creators for making such wonderful content; generative AI can never replicate that sentiment.

Another facet of generative AI is the service Character.ai. The service allows users to "communicate" with different characters. Some of these are just random characters with no real source, but the main appeal is the host of fictional characters such as Draco Malfoy or Gojo Satoru. Chat bots have been popping up more and more in recent years, you can't really enter an online store with one giving you a million notifications. The chat bots presented by Character.ai though can lead individuals to form strong attachments and even addictions.

There are plenty of stories from TikTok users back in 2021 and 2022 who spent hours upon hours on the site - reaching screen times into the double digits. While it may be easy to write these addictions off as nothing more than the "phone bad" rhetoric that has been on repeat for years, the uptick in Character.ai and other chat bot usage is a clear indicator of the loneliness epidemic plaguing us today, especially in the youth.

COVID-19 can be seen as a push factor. People were isolated. There was widespread fear. The only clear place to turn to was the internet for information and companionship. I'll admit, after lockdown my own social skills got a bit rusty, and some turned to sites like Character.ai instead of returning to the real world.

Using a chat bot is easier than talking to a human. For one, a bot won't judge you, it won't talk about you behind your back, and you can always exit out. Some see Character.ai as a cure to loneliness, as a constant companion they can always rely on, but how can one rely on something that isn't living to begin with?

Although the service has a loneliness bot that's supposed to be an empathetic AI character to help you when you're down, I'm hard pressed to believe a robot can truly understand and connect to human feelings.

Say you aren't lonely though. Perhaps you just want to talk with your favorite character because you think they're super cool. Instead of turning to a piece of generative AI technology that's slowly killing our planet, how about you send a message to a roleplay (RP) blog on Tumblr or find a Discord group to join.

There's hundreds of fans out there running RP blogs and services out of the love for the character. Many of these have open inboxes where you can send any sort of ask you want - even ones you may be hesitant to. Hey, there's a place for everyone. Sure, it's not as "on demand" as Character.ai is, but by interacting with human run services you're supporting the fans that keep fandoms alive and well.

It can be nerve wracking sometimes to send the first message, but that's what the anonymous button on Tumblr is for.

Sending messages on Tumblr isn't the only thing we can do as a community to support fan creators and move away from the AI media.

As a creator myself, I find comments to be some of the most fulfilling things in the words. I love seeing how people react to my work, even something as simple as "love this!" or "fire" is enough for my heart to soar. Comments convey far more emotion than a like or reblog does and form a stronger connection between creators and their audiences. Real conversations can be had in the comment sections, certainly more fulfilling than an AI generated one.

Fandoms are fueled by the creation of new content, which some find daunting because their pieces are "perfect" or as good as others. To that I say: just go for it. There is an audience for just about everyone. Plus, other creators online are able to hand out advice and tutorials for newbies. I've watched dozens of tutorials myself and sought out advice for what sorts of edits to make.

Participate in art trades like a story for a piece of artwork. Go to a convention and check out local fandom spaces. There are plenty of places to explore both online and off.

Fandom will always survive because there is always going to be something new with classics to fall back on.

SuperWhoLock anyone?

But, if we want to keep fandom fun we need to avoid AI and start getting back to our roots. I know that's when I was having the best times.

We need to support the creators who are the backbone to fandom, the ones making content with life and soul. Sure, AI can pump out dozens of fanfictions and hundreds of pieces of "art" but they won't have the human components that make fun pieces the incredible objects that they are.

Support your local fan creator, today, tomorrow, and into the future. Don't let AI consume the beauty of fandom culture.