It's with a heavy heart that I, a fan of Kotaro Uchikoshi for over a decade, pen this open letter. Based on statements on his Twitter, ( x.com/Uchikoshi_Eng/status/2110453491571568813... ) and a recent interview with Game Spark ( gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/26/174088.html... ), it's become clear he is heavily considering using Large Language Models and Generative A.I. to assist with future works. I wanted to write this to make my feelings clear: I am firmly against their usage in the arts.
That being said, I understand that it is a difficult situation. If others are using it to lower costs, how can you compete without doing the same? If my hard work for a year and a half evaporated overnight, I would be feeling the pressure as well.
Still, I do not believe using Generative A.I. is the way. Even if you only use it for the "tedious" things, using it at all is draining fresh drinking water, supporting a business that lives off of stealing the work of others, and destroying the integrity of the work.
Perhaps it feels like something as simple as minor tweaks in graphic design are harmless, but that is a job for a person being taken by A.I.; the usage of the generated Earth Easter Egg image on the CRASH KEYS ( http://crashkeys.com/ ) website instantly decimated my hype for the project. Where does it end? Is web design and graphic creation not valuable work? What about the text on the site? Was that written by a person at all?
Art is about conveying a message by humans, for humans. I can't get a message from something generated. The art, writing, design, and even the coding, all that is valuable work, being taken by A.I., trained through plagiarism that starves artists.
But, of-course, as an artist, you might starve if you aren't allowed to create. So I want to say, to any companies: we won't tolerate pressure to use A.I.; if your dedication is to the arts, you'll allow them to be made ethically.
As for Uchikoshi himself: it's no exaggeration to say his games changed the course of my entire life, leading to both my college degree and my job of several years.
Uchikoshi has always explored themes of technology, mystery, and love. From all the way back with his work on the Infinity series, he has written poignant stories of people, ordinary and extraordinary, in extreme circumstances.
Whether in settings of trapped groups, death games, solving serial murders, or saving the world, Uchikoshi's works have always spoken to me because no matter the project, I can see the love that went into it. His support and depiction of the LGBT community in particular always make me smile, and it makes sense: for Uchikoshi, love triumphs over all, and he loves his audience, too.
But... There can be no love in A.I. How am I meant to feel the love from a prompt? How am I meant to feel good saving the virtual world at the cost of my own? How am I meant to see the humanity in a robot character when the game, the story, the art lacks humanity in the first place?
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES bursts with love from the first word, but it would be far lesser without the character designers, 3D modelers, voice actors, developers, localization team, puzzle makers, scenario writers, background artists, UI creators, and more working together to tell a story in their own unique ways.
The popularity of Uchikoshi's works in the West has largely been due to people like me, who heard his messaging and resonated. That joy is what spurred me to become and remain such an active member in the community, sharing my own love with fellow fans and newcomers alike, happily marketing Uchikoshi's entire body of work to anyone who would listen.
But with the threat of A.I. use in future projects, I don't know if I can continue doing that, and I'm not alone. So, for the sake of the small, passionate community that want to support you, please: Mr. Uchikoshi keep Generative A.I. out of your art.