In recent months, some of the major players in science fiction and popular culture have taken firmer positions against genetic artificial intelligence.
Separate decisions by San Diego Comic-Con and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) illustrate the depth of opposition to AI in some creative communities — though they’re certainly not alone, with music distribution platform Bandcamp also recently banning genetic AI.
In December, when the SFWA announced it was updating its rules for the Nebula Awards. Works written entirely from large language models would be ineligible, while authors who used LLM “at any point in the writing process” had to disclose that use, allowing voters to make their own decisions about whether that use would affect their support.
As reported by Jason Sanford his Genre Grapevine newsletterthis change caused immediate backlash because it seemingly opened the door to work created in part by LLMs. SFWA Board of Directors he apologized a few days laterwriting, “Our approach and wording was wrong and we apologize for the distress and disbelief we caused.”
The rules have been revised once again, now stating that projects that are “written, in whole or in part, by large language model (LLM) generation tools are not eligible” for the Nebula Awards, and that the project will be disqualified if LLMs were used at any point in its creation.
In a follow up postSanford said he was glad to see the SFWA listening to its members, and said he refuses to use gen AI in his own novels — “not only because of this theft but because the tools aren’t really creative and destroy the whole point of the narrative.” However, he wrote that important questions remain to be answered about how broadly the use of LLM will be defined, especially as “these productive AI products are being forced on everyone by large corporations.”
“If you’re using online search engines or computer products these days, chances are you’re using something that’s supported or associated with an LLM,” Sanford said. “Because of this, we need to be careful that writers who use word processing and research tools with LLM elements are not unfairly excluded from awards like the Nebulae or attacked by readers and other writers.”
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
|
13-15 October 2026
The massive annual San Diego Comic-Con faced a similar controversy this month after artists took issue with rules that allowed AI-generated art to be displayed — but not sold — in the convention’s art exhibit. After complaints from artists, the rules were quietly he changed to say“Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated material either in part or in full is not permitted in the art exhibition.”
While Comic-Con’s apology was less public than SFWA, some artists shared responses via email from art fair head Glen Wooten, who apparently said the previous rules had been in place for “a few years” and were effective as a deterrent since no one had entered AI-generated art into the show.
“But the issue is becoming more and more of a problem, so stronger language is needed: NO! Plain and simple,” Wooten was quoted as saying.
It’s probably safe to assume that other organizations will announce similarly tough positions this year—and that these communities will continue to discuss the bigger issues.
