AI Use Policy
Everything you need to know about how we understand and approach AI in the work we do
The purpose of this page is not to answer big-picture questions about the nature of consciousness or predict the future, or draw a line neatly dividing the world into things that are human and things that are not. It is an attempt to document our own perspective on a topic that intersects with what we are building, and help you understand how we view its impacts.
Given the speed at which technology and the internet move, in all likelihood we will periodically review this page and update it if necessary.
To get started, choose a section of the policy below (or keep scrolling!)
An image where a generative-fill technique has been used to cover up an element, such as a watermark, in the photo, but not to otherwise alter it.
A composite photo where the creator used an AI-powered filter to change the lighting and shadows so the subject blends better with the background.
An image of a person against a stylized background. The creator used a subject selection tool, powered by AI, to select only the subject and remove the original background.
A photo that has had flaws (such as optical distortion) corrected with a filter that uses a neural network trained on thousands of photographs.
The goal is not to suggest any of those examples should (or shouldn’t) be labeled an AI image, but instead illustrate how creating a useful definition is virtually impossible because there are so many grey areas.For a lot of people, AI is one of those things you recognize when you see it. And if you decide to go by vibes, that’s fair! There is a spectrum of AI and AI-adjacent tools people can choose to employ or avoid when they create something, and everybody’s taste will be different.Slop is a subcategory of AI creations, and as with the definition above, tends to present as a spectrum depending on who you ask. A handy rule of thumb to figure out if what you’re producing is slop: it should take longer to produce a creative work — whether or not you use AI tools — than it does to consume it. Slop seeks to fill a content-shaped hole in our attention spans but is not the fruit of human creative labor. Slop is inimical to human-produced art because it is not a result of thoughtfulness, whimsy, or technical skill. It exists as an output. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Uses of AI
Rather than list all possible ways AI can be used for creative work, we are providing a few sample uses that reflect various aspects of a typical workflow, along with a description. These are presented only as examples. For more information about how AI interacts with the work we do, please read the next section.
Use: Generating an image or video from a promptDescription: An AI-based tool creates a new image or video based on text you enter.
Use: Editing an image or video with a promptDescription: An AI-based tool edits an existing image or video based on text you enter. This could be something as simple as erasing a small distraction from the frame to something more complex, like changing an environment from day to night or changing the team jersey a player is wearing.
Use: Removing the background from an imageDescription: Click a button and the background is gone, leaving only the subject, which you can then place against a different background. In this case the tool has likely been trained on thousands of different images so it can make an educated guess about what should stay and what should go.
Use: Adjusting an image with AI-powered filtersDescription: Slightly different from editing. Tools like Photoshop's "Harmonize" use AI to analyze a scene then apply changes to the lighting of a subject to better match its surroundings. The subject and background are left unchanged except for the highlights and shadows applied to the subject.
Use: Upscaling an imageDescription: An image is resized to a higher resolution, using either a generative upscale (similar to how an AI-powered model would generate an image, except the prompt is effectively asking it to create what it "sees" in the original photo) or some type of "smart" upscale tool that relies on a machine-learning algorithm or other techniques to draw new pixels, but does not use AI to generate them.
PUQ and AI
Being in the business of creating anything means you’re always brainstorming new ideas and trying to improve your craft. And before people hand over their attention or hard-earned money, they want to know you care about what you are making.As creators (artists, designers, builders, whatever your preferred term) it is equally important to us that we have fun doing what we do. Fun is the reason we do this, and that’s why we put lots of thought and care into our work, and are proud to say it’s something we made.We are not in the business of producing slop, and we will never ask you to accept slop.Our view is that AI is like any other tool that can be utilized thoughtfully to help us work smarter, not to shortcut or bypass the human element that is essential to any creative endeavor. After all, we want to have fun, and asking AI to do those parts of our job is antithetical to that goal. Its only role is to make it easier and more fun to create, by hand, the stuff we want to make.To that end, any incidental AI use in our projects will be disclosed so you can make a fully informed decision regarding how and whether you want to support us. We believe it is better to be upfront and transparent about this because seeing how we work lays the groundwork for us to earn your trust.
Going Forward
We will continue to monitor the development of any tools, software and processes that can help us deliver a better product without compromising on our core values: yes to fun, no to slop.If you have questions or concerns about anything on this page, you can reach out and we will be happy to address them.
