Notes: I edited out a person's name and replaced it with "they".

Also, sorry for writing a book, but ChatGPT is wordy.

11) Even well-meaning shortcuts can ignite justified backlash if they touch on deeply held values — especially when it involves recognition, fairness, or representation.

10) 💡 So, should they have avoided ChatGPT altogether?

Yes, for this specific context. The use of AI in creative or community-led processes must be handled with extreme care.

9) ❗️ The cost has outweighed the benefit

...

A community fractured around an issue that could’ve been avoided with better foresight

8) ❗️ The cost has outweighed the benefit
Whatever efficiency ChatGPT may have provided, it’s now dwarfed by the fallout:
Resignations from respected Hugo administrators
Loss of trust in the convention’s leadership
...

7) ... But the retroactive explanation gave the impression of damage control, not leadership.

6) ⚠️ The lack of transparency made it worse

If Bond had disclosed the use of AI upfront, asked for community feedback, and made clear that no decisions were delegated to the model, the controversy might have been less explosive. ...

5) ... which evokes real concerns about bias, exclusion, and automation of human-centered processes.

4) 🤖 Perception matters more than intent

Even if ChatGPT was only used to sort or summarize bios, it still represents a symbolic breach for many people in the community. Without prior explanation, it appears as if an AI was judging people ...

3) ... creativity.

Using ChatGPT (or any LLM) in a process that directly affects programming decisions or the perception of fairness risks damaging that trust, regardless of how minor or assistive the AI’s role was.

2) 🔥 Worldcon and the Hugos are community institutions

They are not corporate events. They're fan-run, reputation-sensitive, and rely heavily on trust from the speculative fiction community — particularly writers and artists, many of whom view generative AI as a threat to their livelihoods and ...

And Wisdom would be his dump stat

It's a good point. I play a lot of convention games, and a lot of home games with friends, and the two are very different.

Having said that, I've helped run conventions for more than a decade in my area, people being an arse about it are quite rare. I don't have much experience with gamestores.

I don't play games with players who abuse rolls. I never understood why anyone would want to abuse the game, or play with players who abuse the game.

As soon as someone shows a tendency to ruin the game for others, kick 'em out if you're the GM, or leave if you're a player.