Letter to the Editor

I’ve really loved the work the team has been doing. I’m always excited to pick up the latest edition and see what wonderful works, drawings, and articles are waiting inside.

Unfortunately this recent edition has made me feel very conflicted. In the advice column, there’s an image generated by Chat GPT. (Thank you for being transparent about that, I do appreciate that.)

As an artist, images generated by AI are the bane of my existence. If you feel I should elaborate on why that is, I will, but many others have said it already (and said it better) so I’ll save you the read. In general, we find there’s very few good reasons to use AI-generated images.

If it’s a matter of no one being willing to create the right art: I know many artists (including myself) who would volunteer. If it’s a matter of no time: stock images are right there, free, and usually funny when used right.

I understand that you using one AI-generated image for a nonprofit newspaper isn’t world-ending, but it’s disheartening to see it work its way into a community newspaper – a community which has many artists who would be happy to pitch in.

I’d really appreciate if you follow the example of this paper’s name and Advocated for artists by not using AI-generated images in future editions. Thank you for your time and consideration – in addition to all your hard work.

Arin Spencer-Sherman

The Advocate was actually able to reach out to Spencer-Sherman and send her the email and have her re-do the AI photo of the Advice Advocate column and create her own unique version. Below is the message we sent her, which we also sent to everyone.

Hi Arin,
This is Mary Nashed, Opinions Editor at The Advocate. I regularly read your letters to the editor for our paper, and I was highly impressed by your attention to detail and your willingness to reach out. Here at The Advocate, we value feedback and constructive criticism.

Yes, that article was put together at the very last minute, and unfortunately, there were no free illustrators available at the time. We did our best with the limited time we had. You mentioned that you and other artists are interested in volunteering.

With that in mind, I’d love to share your message in The Advocate and even have you create an illustration that AI can’t – something that really showcases your art and highlights the issues you and your fellow artists care about.

I’m actually very glad I used that AI photo, because it led to you reaching out, along with other artists, and it helped me learn about a serious issue I had no idea about. Truly, thank you.

Please feel free to reach out anytime. We would love to showcase your art, as well as the work of other artists, in the paper.

Arin Spencer-Sherman