TL;DR
Yarn Spinner says it does not use generative AI, code-generation tools, or accept known AI-generated contributions. The team cites ethical concerns—chiefly that current commercial AI products are being used to replace and overwork people—and will not integrate such features until those harms are addressed.
What happened
The Yarn Spinner team published a policy-level explanation of why they avoid contemporary AI and machine-learning tooling in their product and development. Drawing on a background that includes research, talks, small ML projects and books about ML techniques for games, the authors say they once welcomed the technology but observed a shift in how major AI vendors prioritize generative imagery and chat-driven automation. They argue those commercial directions tend to be used to reduce headcount or increase workloads without hiring, and that mitigation efforts and critical researchers have been sidelined. As a result, Yarn Spinner has no generative-AI features, does not use code-generation tools to build the product, and rejects contributions known to contain generated material. The team says it will re-evaluate only if the labour- and ethics-related harms tied to current AI company behaviour are resolved, while continuing to judge new ideas by whether they concretely help make better games.
Why it matters
- Product choices reflect ethical and labour concerns, not just technical capability.
- Developers relying on third-party AI tooling may indirectly support companies the Yarn Spinner team opposes.
- The stance highlights tensions between rapid tool adoption and workforce impacts in game development.
- It signals a preference for design decisions driven by creative outcomes rather than tooling trends.
Key facts
- Yarn Spinner does not include generative AI features in its product.
- The team does not use code-generation tools to build Yarn Spinner.
- They decline contributions they know contain generated material.
- Authors have prior academic and practical experience with ML and wrote books on ML in games.
- The team says the commercial focus of many AI companies shifted around the end of 2020 toward generative imagery and chat-driven automation.
- Their central objection is that many AI tools are being used to fire people or increase workloads without hiring.
- Yarn Spinner will reconsider using ML if the labour and ethical harms they identify are addressed.
- They will not ban users of AI from using Yarn Spinner, though they advise against supporting the companies behind those tools.
What to watch next
- Yarn Spinner’s future product decisions — they say they may revisit ML if the labour/ethical issues change.
- not confirmed in the source: Any timeline for when or how the team would reintroduce ML or AI features.
- not confirmed in the source: Whether wider industry pressure or regulation will alter the use of AI tools for hiring and staffing decisions.
Quick glossary
- Generative AI: A class of models that produce new text, images, audio, or other content from prompts or inputs.
- Machine learning (ML): A set of techniques that let systems improve performance on tasks through data-driven training rather than explicit programming.
- Neural network / Deep learning: ML approaches that use layered mathematical structures inspired by biological neurons to model complex patterns in data.
- Code generation tools: Software that writes or suggests source code automatically, often using trained models.
- Tool-driven development: An approach where choice of tools drives project direction rather than the product goals themselves.
Reader FAQ
Why focus on people getting fired as the main concern?
The team says labour impacts are immediate, fixable in principle, and worth isolating as a single argument before addressing other issues.
Could Yarn Spinner build its own AI responsibly?
They note they could technically develop bespoke tooling but cite resource constraints and worry normalising such techniques would still drive support to companies they object to.
Will you ban people who use AI from the product?
No—Yarn Spinner will not ban users who use AI, though the team discourages doing so and will continue to advocate against those tools.
Are you opposed to AI in principle?
No—the authors say they still see potential in ML, but object to how current commercial AI is being developed and deployed by the companies behind it.
We get asked about AI a lot. Whether we’re going to add it to Yarn Spinner, whether we use it ourselves, what we think about it. Fair questions. Time to…
Sources
- Why we don’t use AI
- The Empty Promise of AI-Generated Creativity
- Yarn Spinner: Bridging Storytelling and Programming in …
- The AI Tinkery: A sandbox for educators
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