Do you use AI when plotting out or preparing for games?

AI has become a hot button issue for many different industries, and ttrpgs are no different. The ethics of using AI at all can be complicated, and that's an issue for a more dedicated discussion than on a random Facebook post. When it comes to AI at TCC tables though, here are two of the more common questions I end up answering:

1. Do I use AI to come up with plot twists or different ways of writing my campaigns?
2. Do I look down on AI use at the table?

1. I have used AI in the past to generate images for events (I don't do this anymore). I have also used AI to help generate lists of random NPC names (I still do this from time to time).

When it comes to setting up sessions and preparing story arcs or beats, I do not use AI as a worldbuilding tool. I know there are other GMs that do, and that's fine for them. For me though, it's not something I like to rely on.

I have spent over a decade of my life playing & writing through the lore, connections, and developments of the worlds that I run games in. If I were to ask ChatGPT to come up with a suitable twist that fit within the established worlds, I'd spend more time correcting it and trying to get it back on track than if I just tried coming up with something myself.

I've tested what kind of limitations ChatGPT might have for running games before. That experience went as followed:

It started me in a tavern (a normal and acceptable place to kick things off). I soon was dealing with the AI hallucinating that I was in combat with a lich and his goblin henchmen in his secret lair on another plane. When asked about the tavern I was just in, I was told that I was patiently waiting for my meal to be brought out to me. I asked to make a check to see what the other patrons were up to in the tavern. I was informed I'd been killed by the Lich using Finger of Death.

2. For the games I run, it's important to be present at the table and engage using the tools you have at your disposal. If you find an AI tool is useful for you to find ways to express yourself, I think that's valid.

However, I do recommend trying tog et away from allowing the AI to dictate decisions for you and your party like some truly possessed Ouija Board. If you aren't making your own choices, I feel like you might as well not be playing the game in the first place.