open-slopware/NO_AI_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md

Reaching Out to a Project

Below you'll find a basic template you can use to reach out to a project in order to politely ask them to consider creating a No AI Policy.

Before you proceed, read our Tips for Success.

Would you like to improve this template or add additional sections? Please feel free to submit a PR to do so and we'll discuss it :)

Template

Hello,

I'd like to talk about your AI policy. Below are some reasons why using AI can be harmful:

## Environmental Impact

To start learning a bit more, you can check out the Wikipedia page on the [environmental impact of artificial intelligence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_artificial_intelligence#Individual_level). Here's some more specific sources:

- [MIT News: Generative AI's environmental impact](https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117)

- [MIT Technology Review: We did the math on AI's energy footprint. Here's the story you haven't heard.](https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/)

## Effect on Hardware Prices

The demand for construction and outfitting of new data-centers to host AI/LLM compute capacity has overwhelmed global supply and production of multiple hardware components. Memory, Storage, and GPUs have seen massive increases in price for both consumer and enterprise models, upwards of 400% in some cases.

The lack of supply has led large system-builders to purchase production capacity from OEMs well in advance of delivery, leading some manufacturers to end consumer-oriented product lines in favor of enterprise capacity.

The downstream effects for consumers is that nearly all electronic devices which contain memory and storage will see their prices rise and availability decline. Those who already own existing electronics and computer hardware components may also find themselves unable to have their devices repaired or replaced under warranty.

- [The RAM shortage is coming for everything you care about](https://www.theverge.com/tech/880812/ramageddon-ram-shortage-memory-crisis-price-2026-phones-laptops)

- [Western Digital is already sold out of hard drives for all of 2026 — chief says some long-term agreements for 2027 and 2028 already in place](https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/hdds/western-digital-is-already-sold-out-of-hard-drives-for-all-of-2026-chief-says-some-long-term-agreements-for-2027-and-2028-already-in-place)

- [The 2026 storage crisis: Why AI data centers are hoarding every hard drive on the market](https://www.howtogeek.com/dont-count-on-hdds-to-save-you-from-rising-storage-costs/)

This has resulted in pricing historically marginalized individuals, who are more likely to have less financial resources, out of learning about computers at home and shrinking the diversity of the computing and programming industry.

## Ties to the War Industry

A lot of AI companies also work directly with nation states for use in their  War Departments, which in turn leads to further AI usage during war and invasions. This is coupled with [NYT: Palantir, Anthropic and small start-ups are generating rewards from their investments in defense tech](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/technology/silicon-valley-war-defense-tech.html).

## What You Can Do

I'd like to kindly suggest implementing a strict "No AI" policy. This can also help with what seems to be larger and larger influxes of low quality drive-by PRs by AI agents.

You can find other projects that have taken steps to say no to AI here:
https://noai.starlightnet.work/list.html

For a specific policy, I can recommend the following policies for inspiration:

- [wafrn's Contributring Doc](https://codeberg.org/wafrn/wafrn/src/branch/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)

- [Loupe's Use of Generative AI Policy](https://discourse.gnome.org/t/loupe-no-longer-allows-generative-ai-contributions/27327)

Thank you and kind regards :pray:

Tips for Success

• Personalize the template a bit before sending it:
  • Add how long you've been using the software.
  • Add what the project means to you.
• Add the name of the project in the opening
• Add your name at the bottom.
• Be nice! We cannot stress this enough: Be Kind!
  • Do not shame or threaten the project you are reaching out to, especially not with this list.
• You may not want to include every section, depending on the culture surrounding the project you are contacting. Use your best judgement.