Generative AI uses existing imagery, text, audio, and video (without the consent of human creators) to create new content. Data centers that run generative AI systems require a lot of electricity and water, which puts excessive strain on electric grids and water sources.

These are the two main reasons I do not support the use of generative AI: It steals work from creators, and it strains already-limited resources for electricity and water.

How I do and don’t use AI

As a creator myself, I respect the time and effort that goes into making things. I do not use AI that steals from human creativity to generate text or images.

The writing on this site (and everything else I write online and offline) is created by me, with no AI tools.

Photographs and graphics on this site are my own, unless otherwise noted. I use photo-editing tools and graphic design apps but not ones that rely on AI to create images.

A note about Canva

I use Canva (a graphic design app) to create graphics. Canva includes some AI features, but I do not use any features that generate text and images.

Some AI functionality in Canva’s photo editor is unavoidable. For example, Magic Eraser is a feature that removes an object from an image. I use Magic Eraser when editing images in Canva because there isn’t an alternative in Canva to erase part of an image.

My day job is in marketing, and a lot of my work is writing. I have experimented with ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas for articles and generate subject lines for customer emails. Outside of those experiments, I haven’t used ChatGPT (or anything similar).