Statement on the NL Renaissance Festival, AI Use, and Misconduct

    I do not find the statement made by the NL Renaissance Festival sufficient in conveying any form of apology or accountability for either the usage of AI or the misconduct by the Festival’s social media.

    Since publishing my article documenting the usage of AI by the Festival, I have received numerous reports from vendors and artists who have had parallel experiences of poor conduct with the Festival.

    

    It has also been suggested that these experiences should be similarly documented in an ethical and professional manner to properly inform the public of the Festival’s misconduct towards various artists, artisans, and vendors. 

    However, after careful consideration of both my own platform, the events of the past week, and what actions could be taken next, I have decided to not pursue further investigation into the NL Renaissance Festival regarding its treatment of vendors and artists. 

    This began as a simple story on social media bringing attention to the use of AI by the Festival and has grown into a full documentation of the Festival’s reaction and response to this. 

    My stance has been to strongly condemn the use of AI, and as a result of how the Festival has responded, this has escalated beyond what I consider appropriate for a public forum. 

    I am not a vendor or artisan, and therefore I believe it would be inappropriate for me to act as a vox populi for the collective action of the community in protecting the rights of vendors and artisans more than I already have. 

    For this reason, I will also not be publically arguing against or debating any of the claims made in the Festival’s statement.

    I stand by what I published and I will reaffirm my call for vendors, artisans, and others to boycott the NL Renaissance Festival as a result of their deceptive and antagonistic response to public inquiry over their usage of AI. 

    I also support any civil, lawful, and appropriate collective actions taken by the community of artisans and vendors in addressing alleged misconduct by the Festival, however I refuse to condone any harassment of the Festival’s staff or volunteers.