Hey gang, let's talk. Scratch update their Terms of Service a few days ago, with regards to a policy surrounding AI. Here is a project by @CupieMaster explaining the situation in plain terms with screenshots from the Scratch TOS: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1269751874#/ And here is a project by @-Add-Some-Color- fact checking all the things circulating right now: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1270276282 BEFORE YOU SCROLL OFF AND IGNORE THIS: Scratch is not CURRENTLY using your art to train genAI models. They have updated the TOS so that if(when) they want to, they can. Scratch has been absolutely exploding the last few days with AI discourse, a lot of general dissent from artists, and frankly, a bit of fear as well. People are nervous and scared. I, me, am nervous and a bit scared. But there are things we need to be conscientious of; And I have listed what I believe the seven most important to be below. First: Being scared and panicking are separate things. Be scared. That's valid and real- but try not to panic. That's not going to get anyone anywhere except for the bottom of a doom spiral. This has been underway for years, we just didn't know. This is an article from August of 2023 about what's happening: https://medium.com/scratchteam-blog/inside-scratch-lab-ai-image-generation-179f11bd921a Second: Be brave. Being scared and being brave are closely related, not as opposites, but as frequently parallel phenomena. Being brave is being scared and doing it anyway. Pushing forward, making choices, staying up, anyway. The world, and this as well, are very scary right now. But that is only all the more reason to stay strong and show courage. Thirdly: Stay informed. Read the terms of service yourself. I don't mean sit down and power through all of the pages of text - I mean clear up the things you are confused about. Ctrl + F keywords, and ask the adults in your life to explain the parts you don't understand. The prototype, as stated in the above article, is based in DALL-E, an OpenAI product. Learn about that, about how it works and its effects. Fourth: TAKE A BREAK. I frequently have to pause the articles I'm reading, and sit down away from the computer for a while. Do not let all the things happening send you into spirals. Step back, take deep breaths, stay off the computer for a while. Fifth: Get involved. Look around the scratch community to see what others are doing. A lot of people are trying to organize boycotts (all the ones I have seen start Feb 1st and last at least a week); participate when you can. Have the adults in your life help you send an email to Scratch Help, Headquarters, or Team. Let them know plainly why generative AI is harmful and not something that we want on this site. Sixth: BE KIND. ABOVE ALL ELSE, BE KIND. Compassion can be in short supply, and it is so, so vital that you make the effort to be kind. I don't just mean "don't be mean", I mean ACTIVELY CHOOSE KINDNESS. Do not, under any circumstances, yell at or harass anyone on the Scratch Team or any scratchers that disagree with you. Beyond sending emails as noted above, disengage. Do not argue with people. Remain kind and calm, for your benefit and that of everyone else. Seventh, and finally, KEEP CREATING!! This world is so, so much better for having you and your wonderful creations, big and small, in it. Even if you aren't posting, keep creating art. For yourself. Do what makes you happy. Cringey (which isn't even all that real anyway) OCs, bad anatomy, hiding hands, comfort characters, whatever it is that brings you joy. Keep creating. Keep the tradition of art - one of the truest, most persistant, oldest manners of human nature - alive. Good or bad. I understand that was a lot of reading! And I do appreciate you making it through all, or at least most, of it. Now, on a personal note, how I intend to handle myself within this situation. I don't know. I don't. I don't have another off-site account to direct you to, I don't know if I'm going to leave, and I don't know if or what my posts will be. I do know that I intend to participate in every boycott I see, keep doing research, and above all do my best. In a little while, maybe I will have figured out some of the unknowns above, but for now this is what I have for you. You are loved, irreplaceable, and a gift to this world. Stay brave, friends. P.S. i tried really hard to keep the above bit professional; but in one final act of self-indulgent anti-AI fueled spite; i am noting here that i drew this WITH A MOUSE PAD in PREVIEW (for people without apple, worse than chrome canvas.) art is accessible, always has been (cough cough friggin cave paintings), and is still. pick. up. a. pen. use the mind you were gifted instead of letting it collect dust in your skull.
