The manufacture of bricks in northwestern Vermont has a long history, and the Drury Brick Company has been at the heart of it, providing bricks for hundreds of buildings.
As local historian Bob Blanchard has noted: “Drury bricks are to be found everywhere in the Burlington area. … In the late 1880s and early 1900s, local demand for brick was nearly insatiable. …
The Fletcher Free Library’s Carnegie building in Burlington, Vermont, was built in 1904 with Drury manufactured bricks. Andrew Carnegie donated $50,000 for its construction
“The Drury brickyard was the biggest in the state, producing enough bricks not just for local consumption, but also distributing them to neighboring states. …
“Founded in 1867, it was also the last active brickyard in Vermont when it closed in 1971. [Drury’s] ability to hang on until 1971 is quite remarkable given their by then antiquated facilities. But modern, more efficient brick producers, mainly in the south proved too much to contend with … .” From “Burlington Area History. Facebook, [search “brick making” for several posts by Bob Blanchard and comments].
Turning to Brickmaking in Bricklyn
What is little known to most Vermonters is that the Drury Brick Company also built a LEGO-scaled brickmaking complex in Bricklyn.
➤ Lego-scale: All of the buildings in the Realm of Bricklyn, including the Drury brickmaking facilities, were built at 1:45 scale, when compared to Outland (human-scaled) buildings. In other words, a 45 foot high building in Burlington, Vermont, would be one foot high in Bricklyn.
This LEGO-scaled brickmaking facility continues to this day, using clay from deposits along the Brickooski River (known to Vermonters as the Winooski River) for the manufacture of bricks.
Drury’s operations still include a barge used for the transport of clay from sites along the Brickooski River to the brickyard. All photos of Drury operations in Bricklyn, VT, from archives of Bricklyn Historical Society, with assistance from GPT-4o AI.
Opened in 1875, Drury Bricks’ Bricklyn brickyard remains fully operational. It includes kilns, drying racks, and other accoutrements needed for turning clay into bricks; as well as for storing and then transporting the bricks to customers’ building sites.
This Bricklyn brickmaking complex, though barely known in the Outland world, is renowned among Inland cities.
Drury-made bricks became ubiquitous in Bricklyn during the boom years of the late 19th and early 20th century when the city’s population was rapidly growing.
1923 photos from Bricklyn Historical Society, with assistance from GPT 4.o AI.
Many Bricklyn buildings have been built with Drury-made bricks:
Above: a relatively recent use of Drury bricks can be found in the Red Brick Middle School on South Street in Bricklyn — built in 2007. In this 2025 photo, students are participating in Clean Day Bricklyn. credit: Bricklyn Eagle photographer Ann Tiler Anderson, with assistance from Dall E-3 AI. The Southwest Corner building in Bricklyn. Credit: Bricklyn Eagle photographer Ann Tiler Anderson.
Many downtown Bricklyn buildings, such as the Southwest Corner Building (above), make use of a pleasing buff or cream colored brick. The brick draws on clay deposits found along a portion of the Brickooski River that are low in iron and high in lime, yielding its cream color.
In 1972, the Drury Brick Company sold its Bricklyn site and facilities to a group headed by Lester Tiler Broffman (father of Dunk Them Donuts’ current CEO David Tiler Broffman), and was renamed “Drury Bricks.”
At the time, in gratitude for saving the jobs of hundreds of brick workers, there was even an effort to rename Bricklyn “Druryville.” This idea did not take hold, as many thought that name sounded too similar to “Drearyville.”
Photo by Ann Tiler Anderson, with assistance from GPT-4o AI.
In 2021, Drury Bricks became a wholly owned subsidiary of Dunk Them Donuts.
With this corporate takeover, one local wag took to calling the brickmaking operation “Dunk Them Bricks,” a moniker which caught on and is even displayed on the walls of several Dunk Them Donuts outlets.
The donut chain has gone so far as to create a line of donuts in the shape of bricks — great for dunking in a hot mug of coffee.
Dunk Them Donuts recently funded the installation of a genuine, human-scale Drury Brick in an open space next to the Bricklyn railyard. It honors a century and a half of brickmaking in the Realm of Bricklyn. For more details, see “Bricklyn Celebrates 150th Anniversary of Drury Bricks.”
Drury Bricks has continued to modernize its Bricklyn brick fabrication plant. credit: Bricklyn Eagle photographer Ann Tiler Anderson, with assistance from GPT-4o AI.
Dunk Them Donuts CEO David Tiler Broffman told us that “Drury Bricks continues to be a valuable member of the Dunk Them Donuts family. Bricks, like donuts, are an integral and time-honored part of the Realm of Bricklyn’s economy. …
“As long as there are ample clay deposits in the Brickooski River, and we are certain there will be for decades to come, Drury Bricks will remain one of the Realm’s economic engines.” (D. Broffman, personal communication, November 3, 2025).
Two other much smaller “specialty” brick makers also continue to thrive in Bricklyn, and provide important services for the end users of bricks.
Distinctive blue, green, and even violet colored brick buildings can be found in downtown Bricklyn. Above is a view along Lower North Street. Credit: Bricklyn Eagle staff photographer Ann Tiler Anderson.
The “Matching Bricks Company” has a different, but equally important, role. It produces replacement bricks for buildings with damaged or defaced bricks. These bricks are made to closely match the color, grain (surface texture), and general condition of undamaged bricks from the involved building
Credit: Paul Macro of The Bricklyn Eagle, with assistance of GPT-4o AI.
All told, the brick manufacturing sector provides some four hundred good paying jobs for Bricklynites. To this one can also add dozens of skilled brick masons and brick layers working for contractors or independently.
While we do not have room today to cover the role of the Inland Union of Bricklayers & Masons (IUBM) in organizing for workers’ rights, and the impact of the 2023 strike by the IUBM against Dunk Them Donuts and its Drury Bricks subsidiary, we would refer you to the entry about the IUBM in the online Bricklyn Glossary. ✥
W.T. Jackson’s Suggestions for Viewing on YouTube:
How Bricks Are Made, by Insider, offers a short five minute overview of the brickmaking process (note that in Bricklyn, clay is typically used, not shale as shown in this video, though occasionally shale is mixed in with the clay).
Inside Japan’s Oldest Brick Factory: How Red Bricks Are Made, by Japanese craftsmanship -Kodawari, takes a look at the production of beautiful red bricks in the Okada Brick Factory, which opened in 1897. The video covers the key steps in the process: clay being dug; refined; and molded into bricks, and then the bricks being cut; dried; stacked; fired; and finally packaged for shipment. Don’t miss the views of an 1898 building built with Okada bricks (at 17:37 in the video). Also, be sure you have captions visible to read the descriptions of what you’re viewing.
To the Editor: Wow! W.T. Jackson really went to town in writing this. But I have to ask, can I just enjoy seeing our wonderful brick buildings without understanding their chemistry? Because when it comes to trying to understand the science of brick making or of producing colored bricks, I have to admit that I’m just what this Jethro Tull album of mine says, Thick As A Brick! — Tommy T. Brickface, Bricklyn, VT.
To the Editor: I’m in Mr. Arnold’s English composition class at Bricklyn High School this year. As one of our assignments we need to write about something being reported on in your newspaper. So I read Ms. Jackson’s article (btw, I haven’t had her yet for history).
What I want to write about is why Dunk Them Donuts was interested enough in buying Drury Bricks. I thought making donuts was their claim to fame. So what’s with their interest in bricks? I’m going to try to corner Mr. Broffman about that. He’s the GOAT of business. Side note: often see him rolling through town in his black roadster. Here’s a shot I took of him a couple of months ago! — Turbo B. Turtle, South Bricklyn, VT.
To the Editor: As a resident of Burlington, Vermont, I have to say we’ve also benefitted immensely from our brick heritage. I’m glad to hear that Drury Bricks lives on — albeit in a greatly reduced size — in Bricklyn. One problem that does plague our brick buildings is the spread of graffiti. It not only destroys the beauty of our built environment, but is often time-consuming and costly to remove. Solutions seem hard to come by. The photos in your article seem to indicate that Bricklyn is graffiti-free. Very much hope that’s actually the case. — Stanley M., Burlington, VT.
Reply from the Editor: Thank you for your comment. Yes, Bricklyn is, and has always been, graffiti-free. As far as we’re aware that’s also true of other Inland realms. It’s an interesting question why that’s the case, which may well involve deeper questions of Outlander versus Inlander psychology. Perhaps one of our reporters can address this in a future Bricklyn Eagle article.
by Gloria Vanderbrick, Bricklyn Eagle “People in the News” correspondent
“What’s the weather like today?” That’s the question asked by most Bricklynites every day. We dare say, it’s the same question most Outlanders also ask.
Bricklyn weather forecasters, however, have the unusual task of having to deal with two totally different “climate zones” — depending on which side of The Great Wall of Bricklyn you live on.
Here to explain the ins and outs of the tricky job of forecasting the weather in the Realm of Bricklyn is chief meteorologist Tiler Brickoski, who works for the Bricklyn Weather Service — and who many Bricklynites see almost every day on NewsChannel5.
Tiler Brickoski on the air with NewsChannel 5 on a snowy day in Bricklyn Jct. .All photos in this article taken by Bricklyn Eagle photographer Ann Tiler Anderson, with assistance from Dall E-3 AI.
There’s one more reason Tiler is with us, and that’s because he’s a past Brickardy winner– but more on that after we talk about just about everyone’s favorite topic here in Bricklyn, the weather. Welcome Tiler.
Tiler Brickoski: Thanks, Gloria. Glad to be here, and I have to tell you I enjoyed your interview of fellow Brickardy winner, Merry Days. Her Bricklyn Brick Spa is my go to place whenever I need a thorough cleansing!
Weather Patterns Inside & Outside The Great Wall
Gloria Vanderbrick: Good to have you with us. Let’s start with what probably puzzles most Outlanders, and even some Bricklynites: just why are there two distinct climate zones in such a small geographic area as the Realm Bricklyn?
Tiler Brickoski: It has little to due with geography, since all of the Realm is quite similar in terms of topography. But what does make a huge difference — and why we always have to issue two sets of forecasts — is because of The Great Wall of Bricklyn. Those living in portions of Bricklyn “inside” The Great Wall are subject to completely different weather than those living “outside” The Great Wall.
Gloria Vanderbrick; We’re inserting below a photo showing the difference. Bear in mind that the photo was taken on a snowy Winter day (February 14, 2024, 1pm EST). You can see The Great Wall cutting through the middle of the yards facing each other: nice weather on the west side of The Wall, snow on the east side.
Same time, same February day: two sides of the same block in Bricklyn’s Eastside neighborhood looking west towards Bricklyn Bay. Photo by Ann Tiler Anderson, with assistance from Dall E-3 AI.
Tiler Brickoski: Yes, it’s a strange phenomenon, which can be especially disorienting in Winter when it’s almost always temperate inside The Great Wall, but cold and snowy outside the Wall — even though the Wall is only about six feet wide.
The Great Wall does not in any significant way affect the ability of Bricklynites to easily go back and forth between either side of The Wall. It can be fun to walk, in just a couple of minutes, from a snowy to a sunny day, or vice-versa. Kids of all ages enjoy that!
I should add that it can be confusing for Outlanders to understand the difference between “outside” or “inside” the Wall. But it’s actually simple:
“Outside The Great Wall” refers to those areas that cannot be seen by humans (other than in photos) since The Great Wall hides them from human sight, but leaves these parts of the Realm of Bricklyn subject to Vermont’s highly variable, seasonal weather.
Boys heading from house inside the Great Wall on a December morning to do some cross-country skiing a few blocks away in part of Bricklyn that is outside the Great Wall.
“Inside The Great Wall” refers to those parts of the Realm of Bricklyn that humans, that is to say Outlanders, can visit and see.
Those areas inside the Wall are all located in an enclave within an Outlander’s basement. As a result of this protective bubble, It never snows or rains in those parts of Bricklyn inside the Great Wall.
Photos above show two tunnels through The Great Wall, in both cases the view is from the downtown Bricklyn “inside the Wall” side. The other end of the tunnels is in Bricklyn Junction on the “outside the Wall” side. Photos by Ann Tiler Anderson, with assistance from Dall E-3 AI.
Gloria Vanderbrick: So what difference does that mean in terms of weather if you live inside or outside the Wall?
Tiler Brickoski: Well, generally speaking, weather outside The Great Wall is the same as the weather outdoors in Burlington, Vermont, while weather inside The Great Wall is the same as what it’s like inside the Outlander’s basement.
But here’s the problem: the weather inside The Great Wall — and this includes all of Bricklyn’s downtown core and part of South Bricklyn — is subject to the “whims” of that “unknown” Outlander who owns and controls the basement in which a large portion of the Realm of Bricklyn is located.📍
📍Editor’s Note: The 1981 establishment agreement between the State of Vermont and the Realm of Bricklyn formally recognized the Realm of Bricklyn’s existence as a quarter-acre enclave within the State of Vermont, The specific location, as well as the name of the homeowner who has provided the enclave cannot be disclosed without the express written consent of the homeowner. There are steep penalties for unauthorized disclosure, including banishment from Bricklyn.
Gloria Vanderbrick: Why did you says “whims,” Tiler? Isn’t the climate in those parts of Bricklyn inside The Wall generally temperate and consistent year round?
Tiler Brickoski: Maybe the word “whim” wasn’t the right word to choose — and I’m glad you included the word “generally.” Indeed most of the time temperatures in areas located inside The Wall are consistently in the 62 to 65 degree F. range. These temperatures are maintained by the Outland homeowner’s furnace and air conditioning unit as well as the fact that the basement is partially sunk into the ground.
Portions of South Bricklyn are located inside an Outlander’s basement. Various elements of the basement’s heating and cooling systems create forecasting challenges for Bricklyn meteorologists.
However, there is some variability, especially when this Outlander is on vacation and significantly lowers the temperature inside the house — perhaps to save money, perhaps to believe his action helps fight global warming. This can cause a quite noticeable drop in downtown Bricklyn’s temperature of about six to eight degrees. Bricklyn meteorologists refer to these times as the “They’re Away Days.” Again, it’s hard to forecast since we at the Bricklyn Weather Service are not privy to the Outlanders vacation schedule. That’s one weather mystery!
Gloria Vanderbrick: Tiler, are there any other aspects of the weather in those parts of Bricklyn that are inside The Wall that are, shall we say, “Outlander dependent”?
Tiler Brickoski is certified accurate by the Bricklyn Meteorological Society (BMS).
Tiler Brickoski: Yes, in fact there are. They relate to both wind speed and wind direction.
First of all, easterly winds flow out of vents near the basement ceiling.
They generate warm breezes during Winter when the Outlander’s furnace is active, and cool breezes during Summer when the Outlander’s air conditioner is running.
There’s one further complication, and that has to do with the Outlander’s portable fan.
Gloria Vanderbrick: How does that fan complicate your forecasting?
Tiler Brickoski: The fan’s unpredictable usage, location, and speed can be quite baffling to our meteorologists. Frankly, we don’t understand why the Outland homeowner periodically shifts the location of this fan, and also why he sometimes goes days without running the fan, and then days when the fan is always on.
Fan pointing northFan pointing east
Further complicating our forecasting ability, the homeowner seems to randomly change the fan’s “rotation” setting. This means that while sometimes the fan-generated wind blows steadily in just one direction, other times it moves in a broad, semi-circular constantly repeating pattern. Bricklyn meteorologists refer to these winds blowing in continuously changing directions as the “Circular Variables.”
As if all this weren’t enough, this fan also generates three different wind speeds, which are not set in any pattern we can discern. As I said, it’s baffling. We’ve asked our liaison to the Outland world to look into this and speak with the homeowner, but we’ve been told to “not rock the boat.”
Gloria Vanderbrick: I can see how all this can make forecasting difficult. I also know that you closely monitor the weather in Burlington, Vermont. Can’t Bricklyn just rely on the human meteorologists in Burlington, like the eminent Tyler Jankoski, for forecasts affecting those portions of Bricklyn outside The Great Wall? After all, the weather there should be about the same as in Burlington.
Tiler Brickoski at Bricklyn Weather Service offices in Bricklyn Jct., Vermont.
Tiler Brickoski: Yes, we could. But then six of us, including me, might be out of our jobs!
But truly, Gloria, we at the Bricklyn Weather Service have always felt it important for Bricklyn to be able to take care of its own forecasting needs. Given some of the concerns about possible changes in the relationship between Bricklyn and Vermont — the latter being part of the United States — I think being self-reliant remains a good practice.
Brickardy Advice from Brickoski
Gloria Vanderbrick: In our last few minutes I’d like to switch gears and ask you about another aspect of your life, that involving the game show Brickardy. You’ve been a past contestant and a six game winner on Brickardy. What got you interested in that show?
Part of the set of Brickardy. A much younger Tiler Brickoski is seen in the middle.
Tiler Brickoski: Like Merry Gay — and, yes, I read your interview of her — I started watching Brickardy as a kid. I even used to go over to The Excchange LIbrary and use their VPN to watch games of the Outland show it’s based on, Jeopardy.
I guess you’d call me a nerd, especially in my teens. I also preferred science to sports, which is how I got addicted to learning about weather. So delving into aspects of weather and climate led me to want to learn a lot about many other subjects, especially in the sciences. Brickardy just seemed to tie together all kinds of knowledge.
Gloria Vanderbrick: As I asked Merry Days last week, let me ask you: if you had to give one tip to someone who wants to be a Brickardy winner, what would that be?
Tiler Brickoski: I saw Merry’s advice was to make better use of the buzzer. That’s certainly a good tip. But for me what’s most important is having prepared a game strategy. This means things like selecting categories wisely, understanding how Daily Doubles work, and making smart wagers on Final Brickardy.
Gloria Vanderbrick: Tiler, thanks for taking the time to speak with us, and see you on NewChannel5.
To the Editor: Thanks for the interview of my favorite TV weather person. Tiler Brickoski is just great, and is such a smart guy. I love the segments he sometimes does on “weather mysteries.” I also wasn’t aware there are so many different factors involving wind speed and direction in Bricklyn. It is a strange sensation to walk down South Street during those “circular variable” winds when they’re continuously changing direction. — Melissa Plater Grant, Bricklyn, VT.
The day it rained frogs in South Bricklyn (June 15, 1983). Photo from The Bricklyn Eagle archives, taken with assistance from Dall E-3 AI.
To the Editor: I’m a junior at Bricklyn University, where I’m majoring in physics, with a minor in meteorology. I remember a number of years ago when I was in 4th grade, Mr. Brickoski came to our class and gave a terrific talk about strange weather events in Bricklyn’s history, like the time it actually rained frogs. Yes, it really can rain frogs! It was a lot of fun, and helped trigger my interest in meteorology.
But I also remember asking Mr. Brickoski why he was talking about the weather, instead of about meteors!He explained that the word “meteorology” comes from the Greek word “meteoron” which means “things high in the air” — and that includes the weather. — Moses B. Strong, South Bricklyn, VT.
To the Editor: I think that you could have edited the interview better. At times it was hard to follow. My guess is that most Outland readers will be lost with all the” inside the wall” and “outside the wall” references. They cloud up the article. You should tell your readers to at least read the glossary entry about the Great Wall first, or read where Bricklyn’s chief historian gives a good summary of the Great Wall’s history. Editor Walt Brickman, you could have done better! — Wayne S., Vermont
My View is a series of opinion articles written by Bricklynites. Today, Richard B. Saunders, Professor of Communications at Bricklyn University, weighs in on some criticism recently leveled against The Bricklyn Eagle.
Several Outland critics have scolded the Bricklyn Eagle for its use of the Dall-E artificial intelligence (AI) program for generating images. Their claim is that the newspaper’s use of AI for “photos” is both “unethical” and “wasteful,” and that the resulting images are “a pile of s**t.”
Dall-E AI has a staff of 15 working out of Bricklyn Jct., VT. Photo by Bricklyn Eagle’s Ann Tiler Anderson, with aid (not surprisingly) of Dall E-3 AI.
The first charge includes allegations that AI results in the loss of work opportunities by “real” artists and designers, as well as a generalized belief that AI “undermines human creativity.”
The second charge, that AI is wasteful, is based on the allegedly steep energy costs inherent in using image generating AI and its resulting negative environmental impacts.
I’ll leave the third charge about the images being “a pile of s**t” to Bricklyn Eagle readers to decide for themselves.
How The Bricklyn Eagle Has Responded
Jeff Brickzos in center (with blue suit) celebrating end of 2023 newspaper strike with Newspaper Guild President Thomas J. Brickify, Jr (on right wearing pressman’s attire). Photo from The Bricklyn Eagle archives.
Bricklyn Eagle Publisher & CEO Jeff Brickzos recently stated, “The Bricklyn Eagle takes these allegations seriously. We believe we currently abide by artificial intelligence use guidelines adopted by the Federal Council of the Realm of Bricklyn, but will ask for their feedback on how we use AI for images. It may well be necessary for The Federal Council to take a fresh look at this issue.”
The two primary policies set out by the Federal Council are: (1) the need “to carefully double- check the accuracy of any sources identified in the use of AI to prevent fake news,” and (2) the need “to identify in articles, press releases, or broadcasts” whenever content [being used or displayed] is based in whole or in part on generative AI.”
Does it enhance your reading experience to see an AI “approximation” of Walt Brickman (above left) receiving a coveted Brickitzer Prize for his interview of American astronaut Neil Armstrong? You can compare this to an actual photo of Walt Brickman (above right) standing in front of The Bricklyn Eagle offices.
Bricklyn Eagle Editor Brickman has said that “many subscribers have told us they’ve found that AI-assisted photos and graphics enhance their experience in reading The Eagle,” adding that “Outlanders should also realize that Bricklyn law prohibits our publication of photos of those portions of Bricklyn outside the Great Wall of Bricklyn, as well as of interiors of buildings anywhere in the Realm.”
The Bricklyn Eagle’s use of AI for rendering approximations of otherwise prohibited images appears to take advantage of what some might term a loophole in Bricklyn law.
According to Editor Brickman: “The Federal Council guidelines — which we follow — do not permit the publication of photos taken in areas outside the Great Wall or in building interiors anywhere within the Realm of Bricklyn. Our lawyers have told us that AI renderings that may approximate the look of actual buildings or people in these areas can be shown on The Bricklyn Eagle as they do not impinge on reasonable privacy concerns.”
Above left: photo of The Bricklyn Excchange Building, located inside The Great Wall of Bricklyn (NOT AI generated). Above right: AI assisted approximation / rendering of interior of the Bricklyn Public Library on second floor of The Excchange Building.
It is interesting to note that complaints concerning AI have primarily come from Outlanders, not from Bricklynites or other Inlanders. As Brickzos tells it, “Outlanders critical of our practices need to be aware that when it comes to something like regulating AI, it is Bricklyn, not Outland, law and policy that apply. Having said that, we obviously have much in common with the Outland world, and many of our readers are Outlanders.”
Putting aside for the moment ethical or environmental concerns, which I will address shortly, The Bricklyn Eagle’s use of AI seems, at least for now, to stand on solid legal grounds.
Does The Bricklyn Eagle’s Use of AI Stifle Creativity?
One of the claims made by those critics who call the The Bricklyn Eagle’s use AI images unethical is that it stifles creativity andI takes away from the enjoyment individuals get from building LEGO structures or creations.
While at first blush this sounds plausible, the sentiment appears to be based on a human-centric view of the role and use of LEGO, where piecing together LEGO models is viewed as a hobby or project. It also ignores that fact that most LEGO builders, whether Inlanders or Outlanders, follow clearly spelled out instructions — an enjoyable, but hardly creative, exercise.
Milly Plater-Zybrick (in blue-striped shirt) and her mother, Hilma Plater-Zybrick, also President of the Bricklyn Federal Council, engaged in Lincoln Logs construction. Photo by Ann Tiler Anderson, Bricklyn Eagle.
Indeed, for many Bricklynites AI provides a way to re-engage with LEGO design in creative ways, allowing for the design of elaborate imaginary structures, or, in the case of The Eagle, approximations of actual Bricklyn architectural treasures. Should this be viewed as wrong-headed or unethical?
Should this Dall E-3 AI generated approximation of the historic Bricklyn Junction Opera House — located outside The Great Wall of Bricklyn — be banned from publication in The Bricklyn Eagle? I should think not.
It is also worth noting that the LEGO Group [the privately held company that owns LEGO] has recently used AI images of LEGO minifigures in its advertising. While backtracking after some LEGO users complained, the LEGO Group has apparently not ruled out future use of AI generated images. See “LEGO OFFICIALLY Used AI Generated Art” (YouTube).
Energy Impacts of AI and LEGO Use
Another claim made by opponents of using generative AI is that it requires substantial quantities of energy to render the images. What’s more, it is argued, energy consumption will likely increase with the development of AI-generated videos. When asked about this, Bricklyn Eagle Editor Brickman did not deny that AI can be an “energy hog,” but did note that “the Bricklyn Eagle has not used energy intensive AI videos, and has no plans to.”
Of course, absent regulation, tomorrow’s competitive pressures may change today’s verbal commitments.
Energy consumption concerns have also been a focus of LEGO. According to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, “The LEGO Group has made major strides in reducing energy drawn from fossil fuels. … The output from the investments [in offshore wind projects] now exceeds the consumption from all of LEGO’s factories, stores and offices. … That represents a lot of energy. In 2016 the LEGO group used more than 360 gigawatt hours of electricity to produce 75 billion LEGO bricks.” See “LEGO goes 100% renewable and sets new world record” (ARENA Wire, June 24, 2019).
Bricklyn also primarily relies on renewable energy sources. There is abundant hydro power from the two generating plants along the Brickooski River, enough, according to the Office of the Federal Chancellor, to readily support projected 20 year energy needs. See “Bricklyn’s Energy Outlook: 2025-2045” (unpublished; available on request). Unless there is a dramatic spike in AI use in Bricklyn, energy consumption should not pose a significant problem. However, this is an area the Federal Council should further investigate.
Environmental concerns have long been raised about the disposal of LEGO bricks as they are still almost totally made of plastic. They can take hundreds of years to decompose, and pose an environmental threat.
An AI rendering of Bricklyn’s main recycling center generated from a photograph by Bricklyn Eagle staffer Ann Tiler Anderson. Given the fact that LEGO parts take hundreds of years to break down, Bricklyn has developed an advanced system for recycling LEGO bricks. We will focus on this in a future article.
As reported in ScienceNews (Mar. 19, 2020): “Earth’s oceans are littered with plastic of all kinds. … Andrew Turner, an environmental scientist at the University of Plymouth in England … and colleagues used an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to measure the chemical compositions of washed-up Lego blocks, which had been collected by beach cleanup volunteers in Cornwall, England, since 2010. …
… the researchers used their X-ray fluorescence measurements to match weathered Legos with pristine versions of the same bricks kept in collections since the 1970s. Across 14 pairs of matching Legos, the weathered versions had 3 to 40 percent less mass than their mint-condition counterparts. Based on those measurements, it would take an estimated 100 to 1,300 years to completely break down a single Lego brick … .”
The LEGO Group has, to date, had limited success in changing the composition of LEGO bricks to make them more biodegradable. However, the company is making a push to end its heavy dependence on fossil-fuel based plastics. See, e.g., “Lego plans to replace oil-based bricks with renewable plastic as profits soar” (Fast Company, Aug. 30, 2024).
It is clear, however, that as of now use of AI to design virtual LEGO structures serves to reduce the need for physical LEGO bricks made of fossil fuels.
Financial Impacts
If The Bricklyn Eagle were not able to use AI for generating renderings of buildings and characters, it would face the expense of purchasing tens of thousands of LEGO bricks and minifigures, an insurmountable problem given the newspaper’s modest budget.
Does the use of AI by The Bricklyn Eagle take away work from artists and illustrators? “Not at all,” says Bricklyn Eagle Publisher Brickzos, noting that “if we couldn’t use AI images we would simply be running text-only stories when reporting on parts of Bricklyn outside The Great Wall where photos are not allowed. The real losers would be our readers.”
Publisher Brickzos also points to the fascination Bricklynites have with the growing number of artists who themselves are making use of AI technology. As Brickzos notes, “last year’s ‘Boundless Perspectives’ exhibition at the Bricklyn Museum of Art featured a number of AI-generated works. Many visitors found these new forms of art thought-provoking. Of course, as with so much in the world of art, there was a wide range of passionately held opinions.”
Two of the AI assisted art works on display last year at The Bricklyn Museum of Art. On left, Bricks & Train, by Frances B. Ireland (aka The FBI). On right, Blindfolded, by Jonas Tiler Jones. For a review of these works and the exhibition.
Writing for nftNow, Eric James Beyer (in Fear vs. Ethics: Where AI Art Critics Go Wrong) says that, “To argue that AI art programs are unethical in that they draw from artists’ work out in the world betrays a misunderstanding and a denial of human nature and creative endeavors. An illustrator or a painter who creates an image does so by pulling from countless influences, including images they’ve seen over their lifetime.”
As Beyer also notes, “There are several other pernicious suggestions that underlie the anti-AI art claims proliferating online recently. Some of the more shameful ones imply that the people using these programs are somehow unworthy of possessing a tool that lets them create. The subtle but specious claim amounts to little more than this: only those who have dedicated their careers and lives to art are worthy of experimenting with such technology creatively.” Beyer concludes that “AI art tools are helping to democratize art.”
“Daguerreotype portrait of Walt Whitman” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1853. Whitman, for one, embraced photography. As University of Iowa Professor Ed Folsom explained, “Photography was one of those activities that came to seem to Whitman to be a perfect match for America … It was an invention suited for a democratic country, one of those technological developments that embodied a uniquely American sense of the world. Photography, after all, was the merging of sight and chemistry, of eye and machine, of organism and mechanism, much as America was …” “Whitman and the Visual Democracy of Photography” (The Mickle Street Review, Rutgers University, 1988).
Some commentators have also found generative AI to be comparable to the start of photography in the second half of the 19th century.
In a blog post titled, “In Defense of AI Art: History Repeats Itself, Again, Again, and Again,” fine art photographer Craig Boehman quotes an 1855 comment in the art magazine The Crayon arguing that ”Photography couldn’t qualify as an art in its own right … [because it lacks] something beyond mere mechanism at the bottom of it.” (The Crayon, Mar. 14, 1855; “However ingenious the processes or surprising the results of photography, it must be remembered that this art only aspires to copy, it cannot invent.”).
Journalist and critic Jordan G. Teicher in “When Photography Wasn’t Art” (JSTOR Daily, February 6, 2016) notes that: “When critics weren’t wringing their hands about photography, they were deriding it. They saw photography merely as a thoughtless mechanism for replication.” However, a growing number of Americans, including Walt Whitman (one of the most photographed persons of his time), were praising the merits of photography, as it integrated technology and art.
Scott Billings of the University of Oxford Museum of the History of Science notes that even before photography, “Draughtsman and painters would once have used a camera obscura … for making accurate, detailed sketches of scenes — like landscapes or architecture. It was particularly useful for capturing perspective — accurately representing the height, width, depth and relative position of what you can see in the 3D world on a 2D flat surface.”
“There is plenty of evidence,” says Billings, “that masters like Canaletto and Rembrandt used the camera obscura … [and] people still debate whether the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer used a camera obscura to capture the incredible detail in his exquisite paintings of domestic scenes. Although there’s no written evidence to prove it either way, art historians think, on balance, that he probably did!”
In Italy, sculptors are now using robots to automate the drudge aspects of sculpting, allowing them to focus on those areas of a sculpture that call for their artistic skills. Is that much different than when teams of assistants and apprentices contributed to the work of a master artist?
Listen to Vermont sculptor Richard Erdman on his use of a robotic assistant in this clip from a CBS 60 minutes broadcast — note, the full 60 minutes episode features both friends and foes of how robotic technology is changing the art of sculpture.
New Technologies & People With Disabilities
According to Michael Mace, Manager of Assistive Technology and Accessibility Centers at Indiana University:
“Generative AI can help people with disabilities create content that expresses their ideas, emotions, and perspectives, and can do so in different modalities and formats. Imagine the possibilities for someone who yearns to create works of art but can’t use their arms. They now can use text-to-image generators like DALL-E to create visual art based on natural language descriptions. They can begin new works using the tools available to them — in this case, by simply using words.” The upsides of generative AI (The Connected Professor, Indiana University, Spring 2023).
Matt Levin, writing in Marketplace News, explains how generative AI programs have helped people with disabilities to express themselves.
One example Levin cites is of a woman with ALS. “Amie Thornburg was diagnosed with ALS 25 years ago. It’s sapped much of her voice, and she can’t really move any muscles below her head.Over Zoom, she showed me a digital image that looks like an eerie oil painting. In the foreground is a bright red poppy flower, with an ominous eyeball in the middle of the pistil. Thornburg used the AI art tool Fotor to create the image with software that followed her eye movements to type the prompts.” How AI helps some people with disabilities communicate (Jan. 2, 2024).
In My View, The Bricklyn Eagle’s use of AI technology appears appropriate.
Yes, some may find publication of AI generated renderings to be unethical or distasteful. But is it not ironic that fears of AI supplanting the fine arts, including photography, in some ways echo the fears in prior centuries of those disturbed by the use of photography or its predecessor, the camera obscura?
I also do not see adverse financial impacts on Bricklyn artists from the use of AI by The Bricklyn Eagle. In fact, a growing number of Bricklyn artists have been integrating AI into the creation of their works. At the same time, generative AI can make it feasible for people with certain disabilities to create works of art.
Most Bricklynites appear to have no objection to The Bricklyn Eagle’s use of AI generated images. The criticism comes almost exclusively from Outland readers. Of course, these individuals are free to complain, or to simply discontinue reading The Bricklyn Eagle if the use of AI images offends them.
Having said this, I do hope The Bricklyn Eagle will seek to balance its use of AI with its inclusion, where allowed by Bricklyn law, of more photographs of the actual structures and people of Bricklyn.
Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant, Waynesboro, Georgia. credit: NRC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
I also applaud The Eagle’s commitment not to publish AI generated films or videos, as those are likely to have much more significant energy impacts — and might well necessitate construction of a nuclear power plant along the Brickooski River, something the vast majority of Bricklynites (with certain exceptions) do not want to see.
To the Editor: Thanks to Professor Saunders for his thoughtful (though overlong) analysis of the pros and cons of using AI to generate images. In my own use of AI, I’ve found there is some level of skill needed in preparing the prompts used to generate effective images. It is, in its way, a collaborative process between humans/LEGO people and AI technology. At the same time, I can understand the frustration, and even anger, that artists have in dealing with a technology that is rapidly growing more sophisticated.
To the Editor: Oh my! Bricklyn certainly has its share of controversies. I think the AI images are just fine. Walt: keep giving them hell. — Pat D., Vermont
To the Editor: What Professor Saunders only touches on at the very end of his article is the need for government action to set some controls on the too rapid development of AI technology. It is really out of control … and dangerous. This may be an issue not only appropriate for the Federal Council of Bricklyn to address, as Saunders suggests, but also for multi-nation organizations, like our League of Inland Cities or, for humans, the United Nations. In the meantime I urge your readers to set aside an hour and watch a 2024 interview of Yuval Noah Harari and Aza Raskin on the urgent need to slow down and better control the explosive growth of AI technology. — Suzanne Plater Russell, Bricklyn, VT
