Pull Up a Chair: Let’s Talk AI

Pull Up a Chair is NECF's monthly online meet-up for cultural freelancers.

What place should AI have in a community of freelancers?

It’s a question we’ve been talking about at NECF for a while, and it’s one where we know there are some very strongly held views.

For many artists and creative practitioners, generative AI raises serious concerns about consent, copyright, exploitation and the use of creative work to train AI systems. There are also very real concerns about what AI means for creative livelihoods, particularly in a freelance sector where work is already precarious.

At the same time, we know that some freelancers and tiny organisations are using AI in ways that feel useful or necessary to them. It can make certain tasks more accessible, help people with access needs, and give freelancers or micro-organisations with very limited budgets new ways to create promotional materials, draft copy or tackle jobs they otherwise might not have the time, skills or money to do.

Those things can all be true at once.

And that makes this a complicated conversation.

AI has become a particularly divisive subject in the NECF Facebook group. We’ve had requests to ban generative AI content from the group altogether, alongside members who use AI as part of their working practice. Rather than making decisions about our community without talking to the people in it, we want to open up the conversation.

So, for this Pull Up a Chair, we’re going to talk about AI.

We’ll explore some of the questions that are coming up for freelancers and micro-organisations, including:

• What does responsible use of generative AI look like in freelance creative work?

• Where do we draw the line between using AI as a practical tool and using it to replace or replicate another person’s creative work?

• What does consent mean when creative work is being used to train AI systems?

• How should we think about AI-generated images, copy and other content in a community built around creative freelancers?

• What about accessibility and the people for whom AI genuinely makes work more possible?

• Should NECF have a policy about AI use in the Facebook group? And if so, what should that policy say?

This isn't about reaching a tidy consensus by the end of the session. We’re interested in creating a space where people can explain their experiences, ask questions, challenge ideas respectfully and perhaps understand a perspective they hadn't considered before.

Most importantly, this is also a consultation.

NECF is increasingly aware that we need some clearer guidance around AI within our online community. We don't want to write that policy in isolation. This conversation will help us understand what our members and the wider freelance community think it should address.

You don't need to be an AI expert to join us. You don't need to have a fully formed opinion. And you certainly don't need to agree with everyone else in the room.

You just need to be willing to pull up a chair.

A note on the conversation

We know this is a subject that can get heated. Strong feelings and disagreement are welcome. Personal attacks aren't.

We'll be asking everyone to approach the conversation with curiosity and respect, including when we fundamentally disagree. The aim isn't to make anyone change their mind. It's to make sure people have a chance to be heard, and to see whether a little more understanding is possible on all sides.