Hello everyone. I am making this journal in an effort to add something to my general Terms of Service with usage of my characters.

It seems like once a year I get asked by someone who is wants to use my characters for an AI Chat Bot program. Normally I would feel flattered and honored that someone would want to use my characters in such a way. But after consulting with friends and a legal expert, my stance on such a thing will be, until I say differently, is this: I DO NOT consent to any kind of usage of ANY of my characters to be used in any kind of AI Chat Bot programs. Failure to comply with this ruling may lead to future legal actions being taking for potential copyright infringement.

For context behind my decision, the first time I was contacted about this was about September of last year with someone private messaging me saying that they were already partially way done with the chat bot program and wanted my input and feed back! They even sent me screenshots of responses they had programed of my Amber character. Being this was the first time I had ever been asked to be involved with any kind of AI project like this, I was a mixture of flattered and confused but also angry. While I doubt the person had meant it as such, after I had consulted with a legal expert, they had inadvertently committed copyright infringement. Fortunately, when I expressed my disapproval and requests to terminate such a project, the person complied and apologized. And I considered the matter closed.

But now I have had a second person ask me the same thing. Granted they said their AI Chat Bot project was still in the planning stages, and it's my own fault for not expressing this publicly. But my answer remains the same: NO. Simply, even after over 10 years since their first creation, I still don't have most of my character's personalities figured out. Fortunately online writer friends of mine have been very helpful in filling in those gaps for me, but and AI Chat Bot is a variable I can't control how it's developed or what it is ultimately used for. I know I may sound over-protective but these characters are one of the few things in my life that I can take pride in and are take credit for.

Or do you think I'm just overreacting? Let me know in the comments and we can discuss it more.