5/26/2026 — I love AI.
There. I said it.
And I know that is a bold thing to say right now.
Because a lot of people don’t love AI.
Some people fear it.
Some people hate it.
Some people think it is dangerous.
Some people think it is theft.
Some people think it is the death of art.
And I’m willing to have that conversation.
Seriously.
I’m willing to talk about ethics.
I’m willing to talk about artists.
I’m willing to talk about copyright, consent, labor, theft, responsibility, lazy content, soulless slop, and the strange new world we are all walking into together.
Those are real conversations.
But here’s what I am not willing to do:
I am not willing to surrender my joy to contempt.
Because there is a difference between an ethical conversation and a shame attack.
An ethical conversation says:
“How do we use this responsibly?”
“How do we honor artists?”
“How do we protect human craft?”
“How do we create without stealing?”
“How do we make sure this tool serves humanity instead of flattening it?”
Good.
Let’s talk.
But contempt says:
“You’re lazy.”
“You’re fake.”
“You’re not a real creator.”
“You’re ruining art.”
“You’re cheating.”
“You’re pathetic.”
“Your creativity doesn’t count.”
And that hits somewhere deeper in me.
Somewhere younger.
Somewhere closer to the little kid who loved fantasy art before he even had words for why.
The kid who loved Dungeons & Dragons.
The kid who stared at Easley, Elmore, Parkinson, Brom, Trampier, Otus, Caldwell, and Vallejo.
The kid who felt whole worlds open inside him through images, monsters, warriors, dragons, gods, forests, shadows, swords, and strange magic.
That kid loved art.
And now, decades later, I have this wild new tool that lets me sit in conversation with my imagination.
I can create.
Iterate.
Adjust.
Explore.
Refine.
Laugh.
Reject.
Try again.
Change the mood.
Change the light.
Change the symbol.
Add the serpent.
Move the sun.
Make it darker.
Make it warmer.
Make it more mythic.
Make it more human.
That process is not dead to me.
It is alive.
It is creative play.
It is art direction.
It is conversation.
It is imagination finding a new doorway.
And yes, I know the tool matters.
Tools always matter.
The printing press mattered.
The camera mattered.
The synthesizer mattered.
Photoshop mattered.
Digital art tablets mattered.
The internet mattered.
Every new tool disrupts.
Every new tool threatens something.
Every new tool creates beauty and garbage.
Every new tool forces humans to grow up and ask better questions.
So yes—
Let’s ask better questions.
Let’s use discernment.
Let’s honor artists.
Let’s not pretend low-effort AI slop is the same thing as mastery.
Let’s not flood the world with soulless noise.
Let’s stay awake.
But I will not let contempt become my conscience.
I will not let shame masquerade as ethics.
And I will not abandon the part of me that feels genuine joy when imagination suddenly has a new place to play.
Because I do love AI.
Not because I want to replace humanity.
But because, when used well, it helps me participate more deeply in mine.
The tool changed.
The human longing to create did not.