{"id":629386,"date":"2026-09-19T08:30:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T08:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/629386\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T08:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T08:30:27","slug":"donegal-creator-launches-new-book-in-fightback-against-ai-slop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/629386\/","title":{"rendered":"Donegal creator launches new book in fightback against “AI slop”"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Donegal animator is part of a growing movement of artists designed to fightback against AI – as the technology continues to impact and infect the creative space.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shaun Kelly, originally from Mountcharles, and now living in Manchester, has partnered with Chicago-based collaborator Amber Ray Snyder to set up a new company called Star Stuff Stories.<\/p>\n

Star Stuff Stories are gearing up for the launch of their first book called ‘Georgina Gnome and Things!’\u00a0on October 1.<\/p>\n

However, the inspiration behind Kelly’s new project has been motivated by alarming changes in the industry.<\/p>\n

AI is impacting every facet of our lives, and whilst there are many visible benefits of AI technology, it has negatively influenced the creative arts space.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mountcharles-native Shaun Kelly is on a mission to fightback against what he called AI slop that has emerged in the creative space.<\/p>\n

Kelly has highlighted how the introduction of AI has eradicated many jobs from his sector.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact Kelly has worked with companies such as Amazon and Netflix, and on TV shows such as The Traitors, Small Town and Big Story, some businesses are disregarding that expertise and knowledge for the “cheaper option” that is being provided and powered by ChatGPT’s LLMs.<\/p>\n

“There is a growing number of people in the industry that have felt the effects of AI, and make no mistake about it – AI is removing careers for people.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re completely new to all of this, and have received no backing or investment on our new business Star Stuff Stories. We have poured in whatever time and money we could personally spare to create something to combat the rise in growing corporate greed and AI-slop,” said Kelly.<\/p>\n

Despite the negative direction the industry is headed as a result of AI, Kelly is working in a profession that he has loved since he was a child, and he wants to do everything in his power to curb the influence of AI.<\/p>\n

“AI is presenting huge challenge for creators, but despite this I am powering through to keep a skill and career I\u2019ve wanted since I was a kid.<\/p>\n

“That’s why Amber’s and I have created Star Stuff Stories and very soon, on October 1st in fact, we will be releasing our first book, which is called Georgina Gnome and Things!,” said Kelly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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Kelly’s has credited his colleague Amber as being the real driving force behind Star Stuff Stories – and has taken the concept from an idea and executed it into a living breathing thing.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s important for me to acknowledge that the genius behind the idea is Amber. She approached me after years of collaborating together to establish branding and help her produce content. From there I sort of grew into a co-creator\/creative director role with her, but it’s her baby,” said Kelly.<\/p>\n

The book is 70 pages of edge to edge hand drawn illustrations and takes inspiration from Amber’s real life story where she and her family lost so much in the 2011 Bastrop County Complex fires in Texas, which was the most devastating wildfire in the history of the state.<\/p>\n

“After the Bastrop County Complex fires which left Amber’s family without a home, her father’s words “it’s just stuff” stuck with her – and that became the core and enduring inspiration for what eventually became the book,” added Kelly.<\/p>\n

Kelly says it’s not just another picture book for kids – and highlighted how it caters for neurodivergent children.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve created a book, which through QR codes in the books gives readers access a free audio version. But it\u2019s not just someone reading a script.<\/p>\n

“We have voice actors, original music, sound effects and more. Making it a full cinematic experience that not just makes the book interactive, but acts as a great learning and accessibility tool for children learning to read, who struggle to read or are neurodivergent,” said Kelly.<\/p>\n

Kelly acknowledged that there is a cost of living crisis, and as a result the world has become accustomed to paying more and receiving less.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He also hopes that ‘Georgina Gnome and Things!’ can help combat the decline in literacy, and the worrying trend of children becoming addicted to online devices.<\/p>\n

“We are so proud of going the extra mile and create a wholly new way for kids to use devices less and discover reading as I\u2019m sure many teachers (my sisters work in primary schools as a teacher and SNA) would state that literacy and reading comprehensions are on the decline,” said Kelly.<\/p>\n

Kelly also referenced how Star Stuff Stories has become the first children’s publication to partner with anti-AI project “Hi from a Human”.<\/p>\n

“Hi from a Human!, is an anti-ai project created by fellow Irish creative Una Healy, so people know they are supporting real art by real artists. Una is a champion veteran of the Irish creative sector and has been beyond welcoming to me and Amber.<\/p>\n

“Amber and I are hoping this could be the start of something to take on those big corporations while preserving human artistry and livelihoods should we be fortunate to see Star Stuff Stories grow,” said Kelly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Donegal animator is part of a growing movement of artists designed to fightback against AI – as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[220,218,219,1485,61,60,80],"class_list":["post-629386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-donegal","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}