We need to talk...

Instructions

>> WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT AI ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Look, I know no one is going to see this except my 4 loyal followers or whatever but please, for the love of all things holy and good, do whatever it takes to keep AI from Scratch. AI models already steal from artists and programmers in the real world to make soulless slop, and could you imagine that same slop coming to Scratch, our safe space? Not to mention the disasterous effects AI has on the environment. Think I'm lying? Well the UNEP agrees with my point. "Most large-scale AI deployments are housed in data centres, including those operated by cloud service providers. These data centres can take a heavy toll on the planet. The electronics they house rely on a staggering amount of grist: making a 2 kg computer requires 800 kg of raw materials. As well, the microchips that power AI need rare earth elements, which are often mined in environmentally destructive ways, noted Navigating New Horizons" (UNEP, 2025). Also noted in the same article by UNEP, AI can leak harmful metals such as mercury into the environment through technological waste. This takes a huge toll on our planet and the safety of the creatures living on it (yes, even humans!). "How does this apply to Scratch?" you may be asking yourself. Well, if Scratch added any AI features (which, to clear some things up, they're planning on doing), they would be adding to the already outstanding issues. These features could also teach young children that AI is good, a statement that is generally considered false until we find a way to make it safer for the environment and stop using it for generative (images, coding, writing, etc.) purposes. Could you imagine the negative impact just one person could make using Scratch GPT or whatver they're calling it daily? For all their projects? Horrible. Not only that, but the human creativity that fuels Scratch and their users will be gone. Artists will have their art stolen by the AI, and experienced Scratch coders will have their code put into training the AI. I never agreed to having my hard work stolen and put in a soulless machine that destroys artists and the environment. So here's my pleading: stop using AI, in as many parts of your life as you can, and make a project warning Scratch against using AI. I could write an essay on the negative effects of AI, and I'm actually considering doing that and linking the google doc in the description of this project when I finish it. But please, do whatever it takes to say no to AI. Whether it's make a project about it, boycott Scratch from February 1st to 7th (I think it is the 7th although I'm likely to be wrong) as another user suggested, or even just change your profile picture to an image saying "NO AI." Together, we stand strongest, and together we can defeat AI and bring back human creativity.