#AI Policy
Nurl is committed to building AI-free tools for tabletop role-playing games.
In today's world, AI has come into the mainstream rapidly which has unfortunately led to a lot of AI tools being used in ways that are not ethical or responsible in regards to creators (of all types).
Before we outline our commitments, let's first understand the history of AI.
#History of AI - It's not a new concept
Artificial intelligence (AI) began in the 1950s when researchers like Alan Turing and John McCarthy asked whether machines could “think,” leading to the first symbolic programs and the 1956 Dartmouth conference that coined the term “AI.” Early successes with rule‐based “expert systems” in the 1970s and ’80s gave way to periods of reduced funding (“AI winters”) when progress stalled, but advances in machine learning—-particularly neural networks—-revived interest in the 2000s. Well before the public explosion of AI chatbots and generative tools, everyday smartphone features like autocorrect, predictive text, face recognition in photos, and voice assistants (e.g., Siri) were powered by smaller-scale machine learning models running locally or in the cloud, giving millions of users a taste of AI’s power long before it became widely visible in apps like AI-powered art generators and conversational agents. Over time, improvements in algorithms, data, and computing power have combined to make today’s sophisticated AI services possible.
To put it simply, if you have ever used autocorrect, predictive text, face recognition in photos, or voice assistants (e.g., Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant), you have used AI.
#Our Commitment
We recognize that AI can be a valuable tool for empowering humans when used ethically and responsibly. However, we believe that AI should not be used to replace human creativity and ingenuity.
#Commitments
- We will not build AI tools for tabletop role-playing games.
- We will not use AI to generate game content or art.
- We will not hire any service that uses AI to generate an end product that we sell or distribute.
#Commitment 1: We will not build AI tools for tabletop role-playing games
We understand that with a newly emerging market, it's easy to get swept up in the hype and rush to build AI tools for everything (which is currently happening). However, we believe this is first and foremost a fad and will not last.
More importantly, we believe that AI should not be used to replace human creativity and ingenuity. The more AI tools we see and utilize, the less we are exercising our own creativity.
These companies will tell you that AI is the future and they are helping you become the "10x creator/developer/entrepreneur/whatever". We believe that this is not correct but instead will help you become "10x dependant on AI".
Thus, until there are strict regulations on AI-generated content, Nurl will not build AI tools for anything related to the TTRPG industry.
#Commitment 2: We will not use AI to generate game content or art
Diving deeper into the topic, it is important for us to honor and respect the human creativity and ingenuity that goes into creating TTRPGs. Unfortunately, this was one of the fastest abuses of AI and it is something we will not tolerate.
Nurl will not use AI to generate game content or art in any way.
#Commitment 3: We will not hire any service that uses AI to generate an end product that we sell or distribute
This is a bit more complex but at the end of the day, if we are paying for a service, we want to get the most value for our money. Paying someone to write a prompt and offload the work to AI is not beneficial to us or our customers.
However, we don't discriminate against services that use AI to empower human creativity and ingenuity. As long as the end product is created by a human, we are open to working with them.
#How we utilize AI in our business
As a small team, it is close to impossible to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves without being able to utilize AI. To provide as much transparency as possible, here is a list of how we utilize AI in our business:
#Business
- Brainstorming the viability of future goals
- General business strategy and planning to help ensure we are making sound decisions
#Marketing
- Brainstorming short-term marketing strategies
#Software Development
- Automating mundane tasks (like writing tests, etc.)
- Helping with advanced database features
- Improving code quality for performance
- Helping with code reviews
- Helping with code refactoring
We do not "vibe code" any software that we write. We only utilize AI to empower the developer - not replace them.
#What we would like to see
We would like to see AI regulations that prevent companies from using AI to generate content that is not created by a human (unless the rights have been transferred to the company). Both within the TTRPG industry and beyond. We would also like to see the industry move towards becoming more accepting towards the potential of AI to empower human creativity and ingenuity.
Video games are a great example of this and have been utilizing AI for years to empower the games. Even more obvious with recent releases like Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Rivals, and Halo Infinite.
For example, imagine if there was a TTRPG app for players that could translate a game-system into the best format for people who are on the spectrum. They just adjust their accessibility settings and it works for them. This is something that we can build today with AI. Would it be expensive? Yes. Would it be time-consuming? Yes. Would it be worth it to help make the TTRPG industry more accessible? Yes.
#Conclusion
We believe that AI has the potential to empower human creativity and ingenuity. However, we believe that AI should not be used to replace human creativity and ingenuity.
Until there are strict regulations on AI-generated content, Nurl will not build AI tools for anything related to the TTRPG industry.
We hope that this policy will help to ensure that the TTRPG industry remains a place where human creativity and ingenuity are valued and celebrated.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at admin@nurl.app.