thomas 🍙

I want to provide some additional context about my usage of AI in YUNG's Roads, and clarify where I stand on the topic. The reality is that Roads would never have been finished without AI. This has easily been one of the most technically challenging and frustrating projects I've ever worked on. Getting my road generation algorithm to integrate nicely with vanilla Minecraft worldgen while maintaining compatibility with other mods turned out to be way harder than I anticipated. I knew exactly what I wanted the final form of the project to look like, but after years of fighting with the technical side of things, I'd pretty much given up on ever finishing it. With AI, I was able to overcome the technical hurdles that had kept the project stagnant for years and get back to the parts of development I actually enjoy - it made working on the project fun again. Without it, I genuinely would no longer be working on Roads today, and the mod would almost certainly remain forever unfinished. I've seen the argument that if I couldn't have completed Roads without AI, then perhaps I shouldn't have completed it at all. I fundamentally disagree. I've poured a LOT of thought, creativity, and effort into this project, and I don't believe that using AI as a tool to overcome the obstacles that held me back diminishes any of that. That being said, I recognize that there are legitimate ethical/moral concerns regarding AI, particularly with training data and environmental impact. I've contemplated these concerns considerably, but I believe AI can still be used constructively in ways that meaningfully benefit creators, especially solo devs and indie teams. I don't think those benefits erase the ethical concerns, but I do think they deserve to be weighed alongside them. Personally, I believe the benefits of using AI to help bring a project like Roads to life outweigh the costs, but I genuinely respect anyone who reaches a different conclusion or chooses not to use projects made with AI. Beyond those ethical considerations, I think there's a significant difference between using AI thoughtlessly to churn out low-quality content versus experienced creators using it as a tool to help materialize their own ideas. My creative vision for Roads has always been my own. I remain responsible for the quality of everything I release. I'm proud of what I've made with this mod, and I am confident my work will demonstrate that using AI to assist with development doesn't inherently have to diminish creativity or quality. I expected some disagreement, and I understand why people feel strongly about this topic; however, I didn't expect the level of personal hostility, including people sending some rather disturbing threats. It's been pretty disheartening, especially when my original intention was simply to be transparent with my community and have an open discussion. I think the discussion surrounding AI is quite interesting and highly nuanced, but after seeing how quickly these conversations can become heated on here, I'd rather put my time and energy back into making mods than continue to debate the topic here. So that's probably what I will do. Anyway, I appreciate everyone who shared their thoughts respectfully, even if we disagree. I still love making cool things for my community, and I'm looking forward to showing you how cool this mod is ❤️