In a development related to the upcoming Seattle 2025 Worldcon, three leaders involved in the event have announced their resignation. The Seattle Worldcon is where the Hugo Awards are presented annually. This year, however, the awards themselves, chosen by members of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), are not directly linked to the controversy.
According to a statement released on Bluesky and co-signed by Hugo administrator Nicholas Whyte, deputy Hugo administrator Esther MacCallum-Stewart, and WSFS division head Cassidy, they have resigned from their positions prior to the August event. The statement clarified that “no LLMs or generative AI have been used in the Hugo Awards process at any stage,” a point of interest for those concerned about the controversy involving artificial intelligence.
The situation has been extensively discussed within the community. File 770 and the Seattle Worldcon 2025 website have both provided information on the role of AI in the event’s processes. Kathy Bond, chair of Seattle Worldcon 2025, addressed concerns about the use of AI tools for vetting program participants. She stated that an LLM was used only to streamline the online search process for participant vetting, and no data beyond panelists’ names was used in the LLM script.
Bond further elaborated that this approach saved significant volunteer time and improved the accuracy of the vetting process, with all purported negative results being carefully checked. She emphasized that LLMs were not used in any other aspect of the program or convention.
In an additional statement on May 2, Bond apologized for the use of ChatGPT in the convention’s program vetting, acknowledging that her initial communication was incomplete and flawed, which caused harm within the community.
Despite these assurances, the controversy has led to public outcry and prompted Hugo nominee Yoon Ha Lee to withdraw their book, “Moonstorm,” from the competition. The author expressed gratitude towards the resigned members for their work, noting regret over the situation.
Seattle Worldcon 2025 is scheduled to take place from August 13-17, with the Hugo Awards ceremony occurring on August 16.
