Note: I'm not referring in this petition to any specific individual, group or organisation - nor am I accusing any specific individual, group or organisation of using AI.

This petition respectfully but firmly calls on all local Townsville, Queensland local theatre, performance and live art groups to refrain from further use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) to create promotional material as well as to refrain from using AI for use on production material that would otherwise go to a local artist or someone in the field who would be able to gain practical lifelong experience and skills.

Over the last few years, the discourse on the benefits and downsides of AI has gone on across the world. After much research and evidence has come forth proving that AI is quite problematic in many ways (such as environmentally, ethically, and culturally) [https://www.naps.edu.au/blog/artificial-intelligence-ai-the-bad [https://eng.vt.edu/magazine/stories/fall-2023/ai.html [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10186390/ [https://arxiv.org/html/2401.06178v2 there is no longer the ability to remain quiet or to not take a side on the issue: AI, especially in the world of creatives, artists, and visual talent, is detrimental to the growth of any and all art scenes, and engaging with it needs to end.

AI art is created from a "knowledge pool" -  basically, the Large Language Models (LLM) that train AI are created from gathering and assessing terabytes of human-created content. It doesn't make any new material, in terms of something that hasn't already been made. All AI can do is redefine existing information it has on hand, thereby just blurring the lines between original content and recreating past ideas.

Therefore we, the undersigned, ask as local artists, creatives, and residents to the Townsville area that all AI generation of advertisements, promotional materials, production designs, etc. cease - as they are explicitly harming the local scene and not providing anything of substance to prove that Townsville's creative scene can produce anything original and powerful and worth the audience's involvement. 

There are numbers of talented residents living in the area that can gladly assist in creating content for local theatre - to disregard them to "save a few bucks" or to "save time and energy" is a slap in the face of their passion, their experience, the years of local theatre that has come forth in this town as well as a slap in the face of all the sources (read: human beings) of data that the LLMs pull from to "create" the new material.

Outside the realm of local theatre, the use of AI to "create" is found in things such as local art and creations in markets, and is equally deplorable. To "create" something that so actively takes from previous creations with no credit whatsoever and with intention to imply that the art is original is just as bad. Deplorable AI use can easily be found in local businesses logos, social media posts, etc. - and is hurting just as much as AI use in local theatre is.

To continue using AI despite the publicly available knowledge about the detriments of AI to arts (local and abroad) is an insult to where we've come, the blood sweat and tears that decades of local artists and creatives have put forth for audiences over the years, and is a troubling indicator that Townsville Artists care more for quantity and speed rather than quality and effort.