I am seeing AI generated images become increasingly prevalent in cases where imagery has a utility such as on posters, flyers etc. Some of it is created and distributed by large entities such as my school or a gym, whose size actually makes the imagery easier to fight.

When my school puts up AI generated posters, even if my emails to staff are ignored, I can take physical action and vandalise them with a message of hostility towards generative AI. In each instance I tried it, the poster was eventually taken down, but not before acting as a statement. The school is a school and doesnt really pursue legal action against students, and I believe the knowledge that the act was by a seemingly naïve student gives it more impact somehow. (Unfortunately, possibly as a result of my actions, the school has recently put up its AI imagery on a tv screen up high which I cannot do anything about.)

The gym is probably more serious about vandalism, but they are nice enough to request feedback from members. Hence I solve the problem diplomatically by asking nicely in a feedback form and appealing to their desire to make the gym better for members, including making them more comfortable.

A far more difficult problem is the growth of usage of AI imagery by individuals and small businesses for promotion purposes. Said usage has exploded recently. I am seeing several times more AI generated advertisements for manual labour by sidewalks than before and there is nothing I can do about it. The reason I hate it is that advertisement art, annoying as it used to be, was originally a way to connect, and now another pathway of human connection is being severed in favour of cheap eye candy. Generative AI is genuinely making me appreciate corporate art.

I think people just like doing stuff the easy way and the ease of telling a chatbot to make a visually pleasing image is growing faster than people’s appreciation for art and human connection.

Where is this going? Are people just going to let AI images flood everywhere that isnt vigilantly guarded by artists? Is there anything we can do about it?

I might be maddening over a symptom of a root issue. I might be taking this too seriously.

Edit: “vandalism” is actually too extreme a descriptor