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Rowan's Tavern Books

AI Responsibility Policy

Last updated: March 7, 2026

Rowan’s Tavern is committed to transparency, trust, and human-centered creative work. This policy explains how—and why—we currently use artificial intelligence (AI), as well as the limits we place on its use.

Our Core Commitment

Rowan’s Tavern is a bookseller first. No book that we publish or sell is written, generated, or altered using AI. Likewise, no sold product contains AI-generated content, imagery, or derivative material unless it is explicitly marketed as such.

When AI-generated content is used for promotional, experimental, or low-cost materials, it will be clearly disclosed with a short notice referencing this policy.

Why We Use AI (For Now)

Rowan’s Tavern is currently built without outside funding. All stand-up costs, labor, and infrastructure are paid for out of pocket. At this early stage, AI is used selectively as a support tool—not as a replacement for people.

We recognize that AI was introduced into the market largely without public consent and has been rapidly adopted across industries to reduce overhead. In our case, there is no overhead to reduce—only limitations in time, capital, and human capacity.

How We Use AI

When used, AI is limited to supportive functions such as:

  • Drafting and outlining - (this is my emdash) For the purposes of outlining certain page content, marketing ideas, or structural pieces of the site, not any published writing on the blog or published work.
  • Educational exploration and comparison: Testing ideas, exploring new ideas of themes, and comparing it in context to the existing market.
  • Testing - Taking something that is already ready to push out and getting a second pair of eyes to identify whether there are things we're missing that can be caught.

AI is never used as a substitute for creative voice, editorial judgment, or the lived experience of authors, artists, or collaborators.

Known Limitations and Concerns

We acknowledge the significant and unresolved drawbacks of current AI systems, including but not limited to:

  • High energy and environmental costs
  • Derivative and unlicensed use of intellectual property
  • Job displacement and creative labor erosion
  • Cognitive and learning drawbacks when used irresponsibly
  • Embedded bias and systemic distortion

We do not believe AI is inherently “good,” nor do we intend to minimize its harms.

Our Long-Term Direction

Our goal is not to build a business powered by AI, but to survive long enough to build one powered by people.

As Rowan’s Tavern grows and reaches a point where we can responsibly hire, contract, or commission human collaborators, we will prioritize people over AI— even when doing so is slower or more expensive.

We are actively seeking alternatives, off-ramps, and human-centered workflows that allow us to reduce and eventually eliminate reliance on AI wherever possible.

Transparency and Trust

We will never gaslight our community into believing AI is harmless, inevitable, or universally beneficial. Instead, we commit to honesty about our constraints, clarity about our choices, and visible accountability as those choices evolve.

If you see AI used anywhere on this site, it is intentional, disclosed, and governed by this policy.

Questions

If you have questions about how AI is used at Rowan’s Tavern, we welcome them and will answer as openly as we can.