Dear HWA Oregon Members, 

By now, you might have read the August newsletter sent by the HWA last night. If not, to recap, there was an essay by HWA Trustee Sèphera Girón titled “Gatekeepers” included which seems to espouse a pro-AI stance.This essay goes against what we believe is the HWA’s anti-AI policy and we are surprised and disheartened to see this rhetoric, especially in a manner that feels disparaging to our community.

The leadership of HWA’s Oregon Chapter would like to assure members that we hold firm to our belief that AI, especially generative AI, holds no place in creative fields. We do not support generative AI use, and we do our best not to promote any material that is known to be created with AI. We also aim to not use AI tools in any promotional materials, art, or otherwise to the best of our ability by ensuring we do not use any tools labeled as generative AI. Ultimately, we want you all to know that the views expressed in the HWA newsletter do not reflect the views of your local chapter leaders. 

We advocate for discourse around the ongoing expansion of AI and are open to different points of views, but the negative tone and aggressive stance in this essay are inappropriate.

As we were working on drafting the above chapter statement, the HWA put out a statement regarding the situation and the board of trustees voted to remove Girón as a board member. They have also committed to improved vetting of their policies on how articles are reviewed for the newsletter. HWA Oregon Chapter leadership agrees with this resolution, and we hope to see further communication from the HWA on how they are strengthening their policies. We also encourage you to reach out to our parent organization with your concerns to keep them accountable going forward. 

Stay Spooky,