Sci-fi community condemns Worldcon 2025 for using AI to choose panelists

Science fiction’s premier convention Worldcon faces intense backlash after revealing it used AI to help select panelists for its 2025 event. The controversy highlights growing tension between technological efficiency and human curation in creative communities, particularly within science fiction circles where AI ethics and impacts are frequent narrative themes.

The big picture: Worldcon organizers admitted using ChatGPT to vet over 1,300 panelist applications for Seattle Worldcon 2025, triggering widespread criticism from the science fiction community.

• The convention, running since 1939 and home to the prestigious Hugo Awards, explained they implemented the AI system to automate time-consuming online searches during the vetting process.
• Organizers claimed the approach “saved literally hundreds of hours of volunteer staff time” while maintaining human review to check any negative results flagged by the system.

The community response: Science fiction writers, publishers, and fans condemned the decision on social media, questioning both the ethics and practicality of using AI in this context.

• Space Cowboy Books, an independent sci-fi bookstore, called the move “very disappointing” and considered requesting membership fee refunds, adding: “WTF, how is this a celebration of writers?!”
• Author Morgan Lockhart publicly questioned whether “being turned down as a panelist for Worldcon feels better or worse knowing the role of AI in the process.”

Logical inconsistencies: Critics highlighted contradictions in Worldcon’s explanation about the AI implementation.

• One commenter challenged the organization’s dual claims that the system both saved hundreds of hours while also requiring human verification, noting: “Did the tool save hundreds of hours, or did humans double check every output? It’s not both.”

Historical context: The AI controversy joins a growing list of recent Worldcon scandals, creating a pattern of organizational turmoil.

• In 2023, the convention faced an “eligibility scandal” when certain Hugo-eligible authors were deemed “ineligible” due to vague “political considerations.”
• The 2024 event was marred by ballot fraud when someone purchased thousands of dollars in fake memberships to manipulate voting, with at least 377 fraudulent ballots discovered among 3,813 cast.