SMOF News, volume 4, issue 36

Seattle Worldcon learns AI is even more toxic than anticipated, and news in brief.

Seattle Worldcon 2025 Learns AI is Too Toxic For Anything

Seattle Worldcon 2025 (August 13-17) has, like any modern Worldcon, hundreds of program participants and well over a thousand applicants. Every participant is a potential PR disaster if they have been doing things or expressing views online that a substantial portion of the membership may disapprove of.

An unnamed person or people on the team charged with vetting the participants decided to bring ChatGPT in to help, and when word leaked out somehow, the Worldcon community was up in arms. (Full disclosure: this writer is a Seattle Worldcon volunteer, but in a minor role unconnected with the program department.)

A statement from chair Kathy Bond on April 30 tried to explain the process and assure everyone that nothing sketchy was happening:

Specifically, we created a query, including a requirement to provide sources, and entered no information about the applicant into the script except for their name. As generative AI can be unreliable, we built in an additional step for human review of all results with additional searches done by a human as necessary. An expert in LLMs who has been working in the field since the 1990s reviewed our process and found that privacy was protected and respected, but cautioned that, as we knew, the process might return false results.

The results were then passed back to the Program division head and track leads. Track leads who were interested in participants provided additional review of the results. Absolutely no participants were denied a place on the program based solely on the LLM search. Once again, let us reiterate that no participants were denied a place on the program based solely on the LLM search.

When that failed to douse the flames, Bond followed up with another statement and apology, with an additional explanation and apology from SunnyJim Morgan, the head of programming.

The Worldcon community includes many creators whose own work has been copied and used to train LLMs. As a result, the entire topic of AI is radioactive, and we have now learned that any use of AI, even one which does not rely on their use of copyrighted works and does not attempt to substitute for human creativity, will draw swift condemnation.

Additional fallout has included Yoon Ha Lee withdrawing the book Moonstorm from contention for the Lodestar Award (which is awarded at Worldcon) in protest, and, somewhat more mysteriously, three members of the Hugo Award administration team resigning while insisting LLMs were not used in any capacity relating to the Hugos. A copy of their resignation statement was provided to File 770.

In Brief

• Cogs & Corsets is on hiatus this year, planning to return with some sort of event in the future.

• The Dublin in 2029 Worldcon bid is planning an open meeting for all those interested in helping on May 24th, held in person at the Convention Centre Dublin and online via Zoom. RSVPs are requested by May 20th via this Google form.

• Trek Long Island (Hauppauge, New York, May 30-June 1) will not have Amy Pietz as a guest after all due to her filming schedule.

• ATL Comic Convention (Atlanta, Georgia, July 18-20) has added Chris Potter, Frank Grillo, Garrett Hedlund, and Irone Singleton.

• Terrificon (Uncasville, Connecticut, August 8-10) has added Brian Posehn, Karen Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Kevin Maguire, and John Beatty.

• Tucson Comic-Con (Tucson, Arizona, August 29-31) has added Chris Bachalo and Eric Powell.

• FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 25-27) has added Brina Palencia, Frank Grillo, Nolan North, and Jennifer Hale.

• Anime Fusion (Plymouth, Minnesota, October 17-19) has added Tiana Camacho.

• Cincinnati Comic Expo (Sharonville, Ohio, October 24-26) has added Brandon Routh, Erica Durance, John Glover, and Dean Cain.

• Gallifrey One (Los Angeles, February 6-8) has added Janet Fielding.

Event Calendar

Weekend of May 9-11

• ColoniaCon 26: The Next Generation, Köln, Germany

• SFeraKon 2025, Zagreb, Croatia

• Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations (symposium), online

• Westmoot 2025 (Tolkien), Kansas City, Missouri, USA

• Furry Weekend Atlanta: Futurepunk, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Les Furfurieux: Furieusement Galvanisé (anthropomorphic), Metz, France

• Furpile (anthropomorphic), Łódź, Poland

• Pinecon (gaming), Druskininkai, Lithuania

• Festival Alchemie du Jeu (gaming), Toulouse, France

• Games Fair 2025, Auckland, New Zealand

• PAX East (video games), Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• EulenCon (RPGs), Köln, Germany

• North Star (sf RPGs), Sheffield, UK

• WasabiCon NOLA (anime), New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

• AniMinneapolis (anime), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Comiciade Aachen (comics), Aachen, Germany

• Thessaloniki Comic Convention vol. 8, Thessaloniki, Greece

• SiestaCon (media), Sarasota, Florida, USA

• FoleyCon (media), Foley, Alabama, USA

• FrankenCon 2025 (horror media), Alcoa, Tennessee, USA

Weekend of May 16-18

• Keycon 41, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

• Roleplay Verse, Oberhausen, Germany

• FaRK (fantasy), Schiffweiler, Germany

• Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention 13.5, online

• Calfurry (anthropomorphic), Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• ZodiaCon 2025 (anthropomorphic), Horní Bradlo, Czechia

• CanGames, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

• Zomerspel (gaming), Merelbeke, Belgium

• San Marino Game Convention, San Marino

• Geekway to the West 2025: One Con to Bring Them All (gaming), St. Charles, Missouri, USA

• Huzzah! Con 2025: The Crossing (miniatures gaming), Portland, Maine, USA

• Final Boss Con (video games), Rio Grande, Ohio, USA

• 64 Bits or Less (retro video games), Corvallis, Oregon, USA

• Drums at the Rapids (historical miniatures), Perrysburg, Ohio, USA

• West Wars 2025 (historical miniatures), Denver, Colorado, USA

• Anime Central, Rosemont, Illinois, USA

• Amikon (anime), Dublin, Ireland

• CloverCon (anime), Bridgewater, New Jersey, USA

• Riverwalk Anime, San Antonio, Texas, USA

• IberAnime, Lisboa, Portugal

• Otafest 2025 (anime), Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

• Comic Con Revolution, Ontario, California, USA

• CradleCon (media), Garden City, New York, USA

• Geek Days Lille (media), Lille, France

• Comic Park (media), Erfurt, Germany

• Rogue Comic Con, Medford, Oregon, USA

• Horrorcon UK (media), Sheffield, UK

Weekend of May 23-25

• Balticon 59, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

• WisCon 47 (feminist sf), online

• Fargo CoreCon 15: Halfoween, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

• Satellite 9, Glasgow, UK

• Na meji nevidnega, Ljubljana, Slovenia

• Jodiworld Convention 2025 (Jodi Taylor), Coventry, UK

• ConFuzzled: Fashion Week (anthropomorphic), Birmingham, UK

• AnthrOhio2025: Of Fae and Fur (anthropomorphic), Columbus, Ohio, USA

• PrairieCon 44 (gaming), Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

• KublaCon (gaming), Burlingame, California, USA

• ReCon (gaming), Kernersville, North Carolina, USA

• Rocky Top Game Con, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

• Gamex 2025 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA

• TableTopCon 2025 (gaming), Southport, Australia

• Winsome Choose Some (Winsome Games), Carnegie, Pennsylvania, US

• BGG.Spring (boardgames), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Enfilade 2025 (miniatures gaming), Tacoma, Washington, USA

• Oldenburger Rollenspiel Convention (RPGs), Oldenburg, Germany

• PaizoCon Online 2025 (Pathfinder/Starfinder RPGs), online

• FanimeCon: Fan Prix (anime), San Jose, California, USA

• Thy Geekdom Con (anime), Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA

• Animazement (anime), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

• Mizucon (anime), Miami, Florida, USA

• Anime North, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• ExpOtaku A Coruña (anime), A Coruña, Spain

• Animefest 2025, Brno, Czechia

• MomoCon 2025 (anime), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Sabaku Con 2025 (anime), Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

• MCM London Comic Con, London, UK

• Cherry Capital Comic Con, Acme, Michigan, USA

• CaperCon (media), Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

• Anime Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Comic Con Baltics, Vilnius, Lithuania

• Peter Cushing Celebration, Whitstable, UK

Weekend of May 30-June 1

• Fantasticon 2025 (Danish national sf convention), Copenhagen, Denmark

• Swancon 49, Perth, Australia

• Tremendicon, Springfield, Missouri, USA

• ConCarolinas 2025, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

• Scheibenwelt Convention (Discworld), Witzenhausen, Germany

• Das Frühlingsfest der Filksmusik 2025 (music), Hanstedt, Germany

• Mephit Mini Con 26: The Roaring Twenties (anthropomorphic), Freusburg, Germany

• Steampunk Alchemy Fest, Budd Lake, New Jersey, USA

• Chicago Steampunk Exposition, Schaumburg, Illinois, USA

• ChupacabraCon XI (gaming), San Marcos, Texas, USA

• UK Games Expo (gaming), Birmingham, UK

• Mega XP (gaming), Mexico City, Mexico

• Y-Con 2025 (gaming), Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

• LinCon (gaming), Linköping, Sweden

• CORGSCon (retro video games), Columbus, Ohio, USA

• Bak-Anime, Bakersfield, California, USA

• Anime Riverside 2025, Riverside, California, USA

• FedCon 33 (media), Bonn, Germany

• ColossalCon (media), Sandusky, Ohio, USA

• Hall of Heroes Comic Con, Elkhart, Indiana, USA

• Fantasy Basel (media), Basel, Switzerland

• Great Mills Comicon, Great Mills, Maryland, USA

• Armageddon Expo Auckland Winter (media), Auckland, New Zealand

• Just added: Fan Expo Dallas (media), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Just added: Etna Comics 2025 (media), Catania, Italy

• Trek Long Island 3 (Star Trek), Hauppauge, New York, USA

• Purgatory 9 (Supernatural), Düsseldorf, Germany

Weekend of June 6-8

• Cymera 2025 (sf writing), Edinburgh, UK and online

• Oz-Stravaganza 2025 (Wizard of Oz), Chittenango, New York, USA

• StratosFur: All-Star League (anthropomorphic), Houston, Texas, USA

• Once Upon a Time (steampunk), Dortmund, Germany

• FlamingoCon #29 (gaming), Delray Beach, Florida, USA

• OttoCon IV (gaming), Pleasant Valley, New York, USA

• Spielfest Wien (gaming), Vienna, Austria

• SaltCON Summer (gaming), Layton, Utah, USA

• CoBo Brettspiel Convention (cooperative games), Halberstadt, Germany

• SoCal Gaming Expo (video games), Ontario, California, USA

• North Texas RPG Con (vintage tabletop RPGs), Irving, Texas, USA

• Sand Wars 2025 (historical miniatures), Chandler, Arizona, USA

• KimoKawaii 4 (anime), Conroe, Texas, USA

• Anime Blues Con, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

• Oz Comic-Con: Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

• SWFL SpaceCon (media), Cape Coral, Florida, USA

• EM-Con (media), Nottingham, UK

• North Country Comic Con, Watertown, New York, USA

• Argentina Comic Con, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Phoenix Fan Fusion (media), Phoenix, Arizona, USA

• 3 Rivers Comicon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

• Los Amigos MOTU Convention VII (He-Man), Neuss, Germany

• Vampire Fan Weekend (Vampire Diaries), Whippany, New Jersey, USA

Coda

• Papal kerning outrage (Seattle Times)

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