Ren J Dorian

[Blog]

Yes, AI stands for artificial intelligence. I know I’m a little late in making a post about it. Also, there are some lawsuits floating around about non-consensual use of intellectual property in training AI programs. Here is a useful resource from The University of South Florida:

[https://guides.lib.usf.edu/c.php?g=1315087&p=9690822]

I understand that arguments are being made around fair use. However, I have some ethical concerns. Before I continue, let me be clear: I DO NOT CONSENT to the use of any of my materials (books, blog posts, website content, etc.) for the purposes of training AI. Despite popular belief, work is still copyrighted on the internet. Additionally, I DO NOT knowingly use any AI in the creation of my books or my book covers.

That being said, AI is an interesting tool. I recognize the potential benefits in its use. For example, a friend of mine has been benefiting from the use of [Goblin Tools]. It lets people break down bigger projects into less overwhelming tasks. To give another example: search algorithms.

However, I have some ethical concerns about how the material for training AI is sourced. Additionally, I have some ethical concerns around its potential misuse (such as plagiarism). I have enough troubles with, for example, book-related piracy. I’ve also received some threats over the years (some people really don’t like the inclusion of LGBT characters). Due to my ethical concerns, I have decided to make this post on my website. Please respect my decision.

[Blog]

I’ve had some frustrations before when trying to figure out my author photo. I have also received some (unrelated) threats in the past, so I’m hesitant to use my real face. I actually have a visible facial port wine stain birthmark, so my face tends to be very recognizable. Someone recently made a cartoon version for me:

(Image credit to August Collucci)

I haven’t settled on where all I’ll put this image. I intend to try it out in a couple of places and see how I feel about it. My pleasant pile of books I’ve published will also remain around as a photo I use.

(As a side note, my website’s twitter plug-in seems to be broken. I guess I’ll try to fix that, but I don’t have high hopes for Twitter’s (X’s) future.)

[Blog]

Yes, I’ve been having fun with Clipchamp’s filters. I took my metallic glitter spiral acrylic pour art video from last year and gave it the cartoon filter. Then I sped it up for the why not of it. I thought it was fun to watch, so I figured I’d share it. Above is X16 speed. Below is X6 speed.

Yes, my write with me videos will have filters this week. Because why not? 🙂

[Blog]

I debated not making this post. But I think it needs to be recorded somewhere other than Twitter. Below is the draft I made before dividing up and posting the thread:

Sometimes I think WAY too much about the threats I used to receive for Victim (my weird little sci-fi horror). I’m about to start a competitive master’s program this fall. I don’t need the additional stress if something like that were to happen again.

I tend to joke that I have “one of the most obvious faces on the planet.” It’s normal for people I don’t remember to walk up to me and start talking like they know me. When I probe them with questions, they typically remember seeing me somewhere random (sometimes it’s even my doppelganger). I am apparently very memorable.

(This is, by the way, part of how my enjoyment of playing around with my presentation can bite me in the a*s when it comes to misgendering. People remember me. If they see me in a different presentation that they think “matches” (their view of) me, then that becomes how they gender / see me.)

I go through phases sometimes where I’ll use a new author bio image. I often change it to one that isn’t a person (even though supposedly readers prefer seeing someone’s face). I just changed it to a stack of my own books. It’s one of the promo images I took.

I also “sanitized” a couple of details on my more forward-facing author bios (namely amazon and goodreads). I feel bad and, arguably, like I’m being a bit paranoid about it. But I also don’t need that extra stress. I still have my pronouns listed on my website and twitter.

Also, sometimes things do happen. Here’s a [blog post] from last year about a reviewer that took issue with my pronouns. There were no threats involved.

Am I being cowardly? Maybe. But at least I’ll be less stressed about it this fall. And hopefully less likely to wind up in a situation like that again.

To clarify: I kept he/him pronouns for my more forward-facing author bios. I removed mention of they/them pronouns. I’m still proudly and openly non-binary (and I take they/them or he/him pronouns).