Multiple authors are dropping out of the Seattle 2025 Worldcon panel participation to virtue signal against the convention using ChatGPT as part of its panel selection process.
Yesterday, Fandom Pulse broke the story about the complete meltdown that the World Science Fiction Convention was having over it coming out. They used ChatGPT as a part of their panel selection process for talks at their convention. Many authors and fans in the science fiction establishment are completely outraged by the existence of AI to the point where they’ll kick and scream about it in any context.
The story began in early May when information leaked regarding their panel selection process. Worldcon quickly put up a statement admitting to the use of ChatGPT, which only compounded problems for the convention. Two of their staffers administrating the Hugo Awards stepped down in protest, and then yesterday, the convention chair issued a long statement with a partial apology for the use of AI.
It wasn’t enough for the mob on BlueSky, who escalated to trying to cancel the convention once and for all for their wrongdoings, ironic given all of the much crazier scandals the convention’s been involved in over the last several years.
Now, program participants are also dropping out. Leah Ning from Apex Books posted a BlueSky thread flouncing:
I am not looking for discourse. I am not looking for head pats. I only want a public record of my actions and my stance. I have withdrawn from program participation for Seattle Worldcon 2025. I've included screenshots of my reasons for ease of reading, and will also thread for accessibility.
1. Usage of ChatGPT in the vetting process. When I applied, I did not consent to having AI traverse my entire digital footprint for signs of scandal. I worked in tech. I understand exactly how deep GPT would have dug. It's creepy. Is what I put on the internet public forever? Yes. So are pictures of my home on google street view. I would also be creeped out if, for example, a first reader or editor had my address from a submission or publication and chose to go look at my home. If the application had said "by the way, we're going to use ChatGPT to look at your internet history I never would have applied, regardless of whether GPT had stolen from most if not all of the people whose names it was given. It's incredibly invasive.
2. Qualifications. I have been on programming at a few other conventions; I have several published short stories; I work for Apex Magazine. Yes, I am qualified to be on panels. But am I more qualified than the people I've seen publicly (and privately) saying they were rejected from programming? No I am not. In fact, I am not even equally qualified. These people have far more knowledge, experience, and publishing credits than I do. I don't play the "who's ahead" game in publishing, because no thank you, but in terms of objective value to an audience at Worldcon on the writing and publishing tracks, if you compare me to the people who were rejected...I'm not it. And not all of those folks are BIPOC, but whew, there are a lot of them. Worldcon insists that no one was rejected by ChatGPT. Their latest statement (as of May 7, 2025) states that track leads got the list of applicants, which they used to manually make their selections. Those selections were then fed to GPT, the results of which were vetted by humans. If I take that statement at face value, it means that before my name was fed to ChatGPT, a human (or a group of humans) decided that I was more qualified for programming than multiple people, a good proportion of which are BIPOC, who have far more industry experience than I do, and at least some of whom I know haven't been involved in any "scandal" (qualifying with "some" because I'm not searching through everyone, that's not what I'm here for). I'm deeply uncomfortable with what that implies, so I've withdrawn from Seattle Worldcon 2025 programming. Thanks for reading, y'all.
Author Phillip Athans wrote a similar post, though much briefer, saying, “Email I just sent to Worldcon: Your organization has given me no choice but to withdraw from participation on any panels at Seattle Worldcon because of your use of generative AI in vetting me, and if not me then anyone else. Not only am I vocally opposed to AI, this is a significant privacy issue.”
He followed up letting them know he wants completely out of the convention, “And to make it a total loss, the next email… Due to the disheartening circumstances around the convention’s use of ChatGPT I have withdrawn as a panelist this morning and now will need a full refund of my membership as well.”
Danielle Gambala apparently led “youth tracks” and also voiced, “I was approached by Worldcon track lead to propose panels for the youth track at Seattle Worldcon bc I have run youth tracks at regional fan cons. I was grateful & excited. I offered to do several of my favorites, was accepted as a panelist/choose panels. Today, I sent an email to withdraw.”
Author Emily Paxman hasn’t withdrawn, but voiced her outrage at the panel selection putting her on the programming, saying, “Just in case people were wondering, no, this hasn't stopped. I was invited to be a panelist this year and after filling out that EXHAUSTING massive survey, so far I have one panel invite... for a topic I've never interacted with, cared about, or know a thing about.”
Since there are 1500 applicants for the panels, according to Worldcon, and none of these people are likely to be any sort of draw for the convention, their virtue signaling against ChatGPT is flailing into the wind. They can be easily replaced, but with the outrage mob activated, the convention organizers will have very little choice soon enough but to resign themselves, much as we have seen in Worldcons past when the organizers get turned against.
What do you think of program participants dropping out of Worldcon over ChatGPT? Leave a comment and let us know.
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Sci-fi authors protesting over the use of one of sci-fi cornerstones, the AI? Literally "bees protesting against honey".
Too bad WorldCon isn't in San Diego this year, seeing as they are pulling a Heaven's Gate.