These principles guide how we use artificial intelligence and large language models at We Are Explorers in an ethical way that’s consistent with our editorial standards.

If you’re reading this, you probably like the outdoors. So allow us to make some assumptions:

  1. You value authenticity more than most people. You like things that are real.
  2. This includes human interaction. Stories and connecting with people are priorities for you.
  3. You’re more intentional with your life than the average person.

If any of these are true for you, we’d like to assume one more thing:

  1. You aren’t interested in the stories, guides, films, or photos you see being the product of a prediction engine.

Artificial intelligence – particularly the Large Language Models that have revolutionised how we search the web – and the ways in which corporations can cut corners – replicate human creativity. Like us, they take in a large amount of information (impossibly more) and synthesise it into ideas.

But – crucially – they lack something that we all hold dear: our lived experiences. The unique events that make us who we are and guide how we write, capture, and communicate new ideas. AI can imitate this – sometimes passably – but at its core it cannot have any value.

Imagine a machine that can produce wine; any wine, from any year, vintage, soil type or climate. A big tech exec might be foaming at the mouth reading this and buddy, you can have the idea, because I don’t reckon it has any value.

A good story, like good wine, is valuable because of the unique circumstances that birthed it, and the care with which it was told. That’s what we’re all here for. And that’s what AI can’t do.

 

How We Use AI

We Are Explorers is a small team of less than ten people. We love the outdoors and we love publishing, but a complete ban on AI wouldn’t be smart, it’d barely be possible as it’s been added to almost everything.

We use these core principles to ensure the views expressed above are consistent with our use of emerging AI technologies.

  • AI and LLMs cannot be used to create entirely new written or visual content. No sentence, paragraph, or image will be attributable to an AI on the site.
  • AI tools are acceptable for proofreading, research (whilst finding primary sources), light image editing, formatting, and ideation.
  • If we judge that a piece of content might need an AI disclaimer, that’s a red flag that it’s been used too heavily in its creation and we won’t publish it in that form.
  • We are still aiming to limit our use of AI tools, particularly ones that are image-based, due to their high environmental impact. We are also exploring a way to measure this impact, along with our broader digital carbon footprint, to deliver transparency to our readers.

If you have any feedback on this policy – or would like to use it as a basis for your own – please reach out to tim@weareeexplorers.co.

 

Photo by Jack Brookes