AI is everywhere, and it shouldn’t be. Everywhere we turn, we find that art and text created by humans are now being replaced by programs called “Artificial Intelligence.”
We have many thoughts on the investment and development of AI, as well as outcomes of use, but we’ll keep it brief: we will not participate in any venue which permits and promotes these programs. Webtoons, one of the platforms we use for Side Quested, has integrated AI programs into its comic development options. As the Webtoons platform has historically viewed its own living creators as little more than content-generation devices, we can’t say we’re surprised…but we are disappointed.
Starting now, we no longer use Webtoons as a platform for Side Quested updates.
We will leave this message up for 60 days as a notification to our readers. On May 20, 2024, we will remove Side Quested from Webtoons.
We don’t come to this decision lightly. If you’re reading this, you’ve set out with Charlie as she fought through the swamp…for that first meeting in the tower…for the story of love and adventure that we’ve just begun to tell. But we are telling this story, Ale Presser and KB Spangler, two people who believe that love and adventure are also part of comics as a whole. Comics are a craft in which writing and art improve through time and long practice, of putting your whole heart and mind into the process and learning as you go. We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t love the journey, and we hope that shows in the stories we tell.
You don’t–you can’t–replace this with AI.
The story continues at the Side Quested website, the Tapas app, and Patreon (choose the free subscription option if you are in a financial hard spot).
Wishing you love and adventure,
Ale and KB.
