I have way more respect for chicken scratch drawn with a Sharpie on a piece of cardboard than AI “art.”
this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2026
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I recently saw a local store with "we have the best fruit" handwritten on a piece of paper. I don't think the alternative of AI poster is a poster designed by a local artist for them. It's AI poster or no poster at all. You may prefer no poster but I'm not bothered by AI in such cases.
I will never understand thr people that think artists are going to be paid by small businesses thst are using AI, it seems as idiotic as the antipiracy laws that think everyone thst pirates is a lost sale
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It would bother me too.
But not to the point of withdrawing my support, assuming their business has nothing to do with IT and AI otherwise.
Doing your posters with AI nowadays is the same as using ClipArt+ComicSans in days of yore.
OK, it's not exactly the same. So then I'd have explain it to them. "Forgive them for they know not what they do."
That said, I rarely support business just because it's local and small. There needs to be at least one more reason. I have seen too many local & small businesses & owners that exploit and pollute and corrupt just like their big counterparts.
There needs to be some respectful images that you can reply with on social media when you see local businesses using AI images just to make the point that if they wont hire local for their advertising why should I shop local to keep them in business.
If we talk about groceries - from my experience there’s no reason to shop at big chains if there is a farmers market nearby. I bring my own reusable packaging for solid stuff and bottles for milk and juice. And people who run it are usually chill and just doing their thing.
But as we venture into tech territory - it becomes really muddy, many of people running small IT businesses in here are pompous arses. Like dude runs some musty basement and thinks of himself a Bill Gates.
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I live in a rural town and 100% this is true. Gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, they all use AI for everything.
I was really disappointed. Since I'm probably losing my job, I basically don't go anywhere any more, but went out for wife's birthday. The place we went started selling pizza and, from a distance, the small poster looked fine. I got closer and it was disgustingly unnatural (and also had "eastablished 1859" (I forget the exact date, but mid-19th-century) for the place that was like 6 years old). We decided to have dinner elsewhere.
Eh. They think it's much better than what they had, and probably can't tell it's AI generated. They paid a local "graphic designer" or even had their kid do it.
The more "mom and pop" they are, the more I forgive them.
Local chain restaurants should know better than to use AI images on their menu, though. Not that I eat out anymore.
It's not easy to own a small business. Sometimes they just have to try whatever fits within the budget.
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I’m mostly bothered that they for some reason always have that unsettling trypophobia filter.
Unless it's a shop that sells advertising posters I would not mind.
Yeah, using AI art for advertisements etc is lower bar than amateur throwing stuff together in paint, gimp, inkscape or some random office software.
You're not the only one bothered by this. But I'm having a hard time drawing a line in the sand for some of my favorite places.
If you're a regular there, I think it's reasonable to contact them and say that you go there often and are bothered by the AI. "I started coming here regularly because it felt authentic". "You guys don't feel authentic anymore, and I'm disappointed" or more strongly "and I'm thinking of taking my business someplace that cares enough about their customers to put in the effort." "I wish you'd go back to the way you used to do things." Etc.
Assuming we're really talking about a small business, it's very possible someone will listen.
I reach out to small businesses all the time working on OpenStreetMap, and (obviously with selection bias for the ones who respond) they're usually just pretty nice-seeming people trying their best with what they have.
Edit: One thing I think I should've emphasized isn't just to say "please stop using AI" but that specifically "I liked it better the way you used to do it." or outright, with no comparison, "I liked the way you used to do it". "It made you unique." That is, give them a concrete alternative. For a lot of people, AI, like plagiarism (because it is), is a tool used when someone thinks their voice isn't good enough. It helps to try to convince them that it is enough and that they not only don't need AI but that it's harming the unique identity you enjoyed by making them blend in with everyone else.
Edit 2: I didn't think to include this before, but like obviously, be honest. If it won't upend your business there, don't say that it will; consider real effects it'll have, like "I don't know that I want to recommend this to friends anymore." If you've only been there five times, don't be afraid to say that; "I've shopped/eaten/whatever at your establishment several times, and [...]". If you're asking somebody to be authentic, you not only owe it to them to do the same, but it's probably a more effective strategy. They'll probably be more moved by Bobby Jones (43) who likes to come in for a burger every couple months after work and just doesn't like the vibe anymore than their biggest fan they've never seen, the oilman in from Dallas who spends $20,000/month at their establishment and is so simply appalled that they cannot in good conscience return until the Burger Shack de-lobotomizes their mascot design.
This is just another thing on the list of thigs that I dont like business doing.
Slop advertising itself is not enough to stop me supporting local business, but it is a mark against them should competition ever arrive.
Im with you! Unfortunately, a lot of small business owners are the most capitalist minded people around. That was a very sad revelation for me in my earlier adulthood. Just gotta keep searching for the good ones because they are around.
yes, you're the only one. not a single soul has ever complained about AI before you did with this post, OP.
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Gonna be every single one very soon. No one has PC skills anymore to make photos. Sad but hey, signmakers are all long dead now too.
I am too
Yep, I’d bail too. Support no one that uses AI where a human could have done the work. Local or not- fuck them.
Go ahead and keep your money as you see fit. The vast majority of people do not donate to Lemmy or their instance.