(Last Updated August 6, 2026)
While the Not About Lumberjacks Press Kit contains this bit about the lack of using artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs), it feels important to expand on that as more people use generative AI in their works:
Not About Lumberjacks does not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) or large language models (LLMs) in its production. All story ideas, writing, narration, content (Behind the Cut episodes, show notes, etc.), music, and artwork are created by humans.
My AI/LMM Policy
#1: Why would I use such a thing?
I don’t understand why a writer of all people would rob themselves of the joy that comes from carrying a story in their head and doing the [sometimes hard] work of writing.
I’ve heard some argue that LLMs can help overcome writer’s block, but here’s my feeling about writer’s block: it’s part of the writing process! Your story is stronger when you break through — not rush to ChatGPT at the first sign of pause.
An LLM will never understand my intentions as well as me. It doesn’t know the things I’ve experienced and done that often shape my writing. Were I to lean on the assistance of an LLM, I’d expect to receive a very typical suggestion that will never be as good as what I will come up with.
#2: Most large LLMs are based on theft.
The most commonly used LLMs are based on the works of writers, artists, musicians, and other creative people who learned their craft and put in the work. ChatGPT (and other commonly used platforms) never asked to use the works of others; in fact, Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) said if he had to pay for the rights to the works of others that the business model wouldn’t be profitable.
Evidence from lawsuits suggests some companies, like Anthropic, trained on pirated books. (Source: Anthropic to pay authors $1.5B to settle lawsuit over pirated chatbot training material.)
I find it repulsive to use a platform that stole from the hard work of others.
#3: Human rights.
OpenAI paid Kenyan workers less than $2/hour to make ChatGPT less toxic. (Source: OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour to Make ChatGPT Less Toxic.) In doing so, workers were exposed to the worst of the worst online.
If you don’t find a company worth hundreds of billions of dollars doing that repulsive, I don’t know what to tell you.
#4: The environmental toll.
While the environmental strains of generative AI are currently dwarfed by animal agriculture, as it grows, what it’s already using and doing will only get worse.
Granted, one hopes that means they will work to find alternative ways of cooling data centers, but we live in a society that’s not really known for doing the right thing until it affects corporate bottom lines.
#5: Aiding corporatism.
It’s no secret that many corporations give a lot of money to politicians. And in return, those corporations hope for laws benefiting them.
Flock cameras are using AI for predictive policing (and already arresting innocent people), and each week it seems more members or law enforcement are using the technology to stalk women. AI drones are used by the military (made by contractors who donate heavily to politicians), and even Anthropic’s CEO admits he doesn’t know what role AI played in the Minab school airstrike in Iran.
For these reasons, and so many more, I find the use of generative AI and LLMs in creative work abhorrent.
Semantics
When discussing the AI I refuse to use, I specify generative AI because there’s always that one guy who’s like, “Actuallllllllly…you do use it!”
“What about your digital audio workstation?”
Currently, I use Adobe Audition as the digital audio workstation (DAW) for the production of Not About Lumberjacks. And yes, there are specialized digital audio tools that analyze sound during cleanup.
Example: If there is background noise in a recoding, you can isolate that noise and apply it to the track to be removed. That’s technically an algorithmic analyzer and not AI, but some cleanup tools in the DAW and added plugins use AI.
I do use Audition’s Remix feature on some music tracks. It’s a feature that allows you to shorten a music track to a specific length. If I have a 4-minute track that needs to fit in a 3 1/2 minute section of a story, by clicking and dragging, Audition remixes the track to fit the timing. (The music service I use also has a similar feature.)
I’m not opposed to using AI tools in the DAW and plugins I use, but I find applying the all-in-one options over an entire narration track yields poor results because my narration might be very soft and then loud. So, I do more manual adjustments and lean on algorithmic analyzers more than AI.
“What about the music you use? I know the service you use has AI features!”
I use Epidemic Sound for Not About Lumberjacks’ story music. And yes, Epidemic Sound uses some AI features they’ve developed to assist customers in music discovery, as well as remixing music.
But the music is, in their own words, a catalog of more than 50,000 world-class tracks is created entirely by real artists. Written, recorded, and produced through blood, sweat, and tears, those tracks are the backbone of the product.
Musicians working with them agree to Epidemic Sound’s AI policy.
“What about research? If you use Google, you’re using AI. Gotcha!”
Yep, even adding -ai to the end of a Google search uses AI behind the scenes. (It just excludes the Google AI-generated section at the top of your search.)
You got me!
But seriously, I hope you can see my stance on why I don’t use generative AI/LLMs in the creation of the stories I share on Not About Lumberjacks.