Nichols and members of the Gaming Alexandria community have raised concerns about the use of Patreon funds for AI-driven translations, arguing that they create misleading representations of historical information. Nichols described these translations as “worthless and destructive,” leading to damaged credibility within the gaming community. Despite these criticisms, some supporters argue that machine translations are necessary due to the overwhelming volume of content, stating that human translations are impractical. Game preservationist Chris Chapman emphasized that error-prone translations can still provide valuable access to large libraries of information, such as the 1,900 issues of Famitsu. Additionally, users highlighted the prevalence of AI tools like Google Lens in modern translation efforts. In response to the backlash, Hubbard apologized, pledged to replace the Patreon funds used, and committed to not using them for AI in the future. He requested understanding, emphasizing that he is only a part of the broader Gaming Alexandria initiative.
