ENnies To Ban Generative AI From 2025

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The ENnie Awards has announced that from 2025, products including content made by generative AI will not be eligible for the awards.

Established in 2001, the ENnies are the premier tabletop roleplaying game awards ceremony, and are held every year in a ceremony at Gen Con. They were created right here on EN World, and remained affiliated with EN World until 2018.

The decision on generative AI follows a wave of public reaction criticising the policy announced in 2023 that while products containing generative AI were eligible, the generative AI content itself was not--so an artist whose art was on the cover of a book could still win an award for their work even if there was AI art inside the book (or vice versa). The new policy makes the entire product ineligible if it contains any generative AI content.

Generative AI as a whole has received widespread criticism in the tabletop industry over the last couple of years, with many companies--including D&D's owner Wizards of the Coast--publicly announcing their opposition to its use on ethical grounds.

The new policy takes effect from 2025.

The ENNIE Awards have long been dedicated to serving the fans, publishers, and broader community of the tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) industry. The ENNIES are a volunteer-driven organization who generously dedicate their time and talents to celebrate and reward excellence within the TTRPG industry. Reflecting changes in the industry and technological advancements, the ENNIE Awards continuously review their policies to ensure alignment with community values.

In 2023, the ENNIE Awards introduced their initial policy on generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs). The policy recognized the growing presence of these technologies in modern society and their nuanced applications, from generating visual and written content to supporting background tasks such as PDF creation and word processing. The intent was to encourage honesty and transparency from creators while maintaining a commitment to human-driven creativity. Under this policy, creators self-reported AI involvement, and submissions with AI contributions were deemed ineligible for certain categories. For example, products featuring AI-generated art were excluded from art categories but remained eligible for writing categories if the text was entirely human-generated, and vice versa. The organizers faced challenges in crafting a policy that balanced inclusivity with the need to uphold the values of creativity and originality. Recognizing that smaller publishers and self-published creators often lack the resources of larger companies, the ENNIE Awards sought to avoid policies that might disproportionately impact those with limited budgets.

However, feedback from the TTRPG community has made it clear that this policy does not go far enough. Generative AI remains a divisive issue, with many in the community viewing it as a threat to the creativity and originality that define the TTRPG industry. The prevailing sentiment is that AI-generated content, in any form, detracts from a product rather than enhancing it.

In response to this feedback, the ENNIE Awards are amending their policy regarding generative AI. Beginning with the 2025-2026 submission cycle, the ENNIE Awards will no longer accept any products containing generative AI or created with the assistance of Large Language Models or similar technologies for visual, written, or edited content. Creators wishing to submit products must ensure that no AI-generated elements are included in their works. While it is not feasible to retroactively alter the rules for the 2024-2025 season, this revised policy reflects the ENNIE Awards commitment to celebrating the human creativity at the heart of the TTRPG community. The ENNIES remain a small, volunteer-run organization that values the ability to adapt quickly, when necessary, despite the challenges inherent in their mission.

The ENNIE Awards thank the TTRPG community for their feedback, passion, and understanding. As an organization dedicated to celebrating the creators, publishers, and fans who shape this vibrant industry, the ENNIES hope that this policy change aligns with the values of the community and fosters continued growth and innovation.
 

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I am mentioning it because it matters. "No AI use at all" means no spell check or grammar check. it means no filters for the images. it means no SEO algorithms for actually selling the thing.
These things aren't AI. The term is used too often to describe things which are just basic computer functions. Spellchecks have been around for decades--they weren't AI then, and they aren't now.
 

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These things aren't AI. The term is used too often to describe things which are just basic computer functions. Spellchecks have been around for decades--they weren't AI then, and they aren't now.
Haven't used one recently, huh? You may have noticed that all of those features have been front loaded into most of our regular production apps to improve them. Your spellcheck from 4 years ago wasn't AI, but your current one is.
 



Beginning with the 2025-2026 submission cycle, the ENNIE Awards will no longer accept any products containing generative AI or created with the assistance of Large Language Models or similar technologies for visual, written, or edited content. Creators wishing to submit products must ensure that no AI-generated elements are included in their works.

First, I think that this is a great change, and it will be appreciated. If people want to use generative AI, they can. But in terms of awards such as ENnies which honor a part of the community that mostly chooses to eschew a model that devalues creative labor (the labor that is paid for this work), I think that this is appropriate.

I would note two things-

1. It appears the onus is on the creator to certify. I think most people are honest, and to the extent someone is dishonest, well ... a false certification would be playing with fire, because if it is ever found out that you did break the rules, I wouldn't want to be ya.

2. I will also say that (IMO) this policy will only last so long as the AI can't generate the good stuff. Because as soon as it gets to that point, no policy will keep our AI overlords from making us play their games. :)

PS- I am not against AI. I think it can be a great benefit! I do think that most people that discuss it don't truly understand what is going on. I am concerned that the people that write laws know even less. Finally, I am not sure we are going to handle the upcoming transitions that well. But what do I know? I am not Snarftradus.
 


Someone disregarding policies has downstream effects on the whole and impact others. That’s not just an AI problem, that’s a common theme that crops out throughout multiple industries.
"This is a problem, but because others do it we're excused."

No. Do better.

We're talking about giving out awards for excellence. Work that is completely done by humans and good enough to win in one of the ENnie categories can get tossed because someone else unknown to them uses generative AI? A whole RPG gets tossed for consideration because an interior artist used an AI tool to enhance part of their image (like happened to WotC with Glory of the Giants) against policy and not caught until after publication? Or what would be winning Cover Art is disqualified because unbeknown to the artist and completely not under their control generative AI was used elsewhere in a product?

That's the result you are pushing for? That's fair?
 

These things aren't AI. The term is used too often to describe things which are just basic computer functions. Spellchecks have been around for decades--they weren't AI then, and they aren't now.
Spell checkers now look at the whole grammar of a sentence and can guess what word you might have intended from the rest of the sentence. Correcting words that sound like other words or bear passing resemblance to the word you intended. It’s the only way I’m able to type legible English on an iPhone with my sausage thumbs. The days of there being confused with their are gone.
And yet, I've been consciously aware of how much worse spellcheck capabilities have been getting over the past couple of years.
Maybe just relying on it more? 😉
 

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