This is probably not the rant you were looking for…

I see a lot of people express this opinion on social media and sometimes in person: they are frustrated with AI-generated event flyers and posters and resentful that people produce them to promote local events. The thought is typically something along the lines of “No, I will not attend your event because of your shitty AI-generated flyers.”

In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, I created one myself in ChatGPT using the following prompt.

I want to create an event flyer that I can both print (8×10) and share on social media to promote a local event featuring artist vendors selling their handmade crafts. There will be food trucks that sell typical local event fare. This event will be held in downtown Caribou on Sweden Street on August 15th, 2026. Please create a clever name for the event.

Below is the flyer that was generated, which is completely fictional (I don’t want anyone showing up on Sweden Street on Saturday expecting a crafter’s fair) Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year or so, you’ve undoubtedly seen flyers that look exactly like this one. There is something uncanny about the layout, fonts, and graphics that make it unmistakably AI.

This is one of the many problems people have with AI-generated flyers: they all look the same. And I agree. I don’t consider myself much of an art snob, but these things do smack of banality and pretentiousness.

Another point of contention I hear — and this if sort of the crux of this article — is that local businesses could be paying local artists and graphic designers to create these flyers instead of using generative AI tools. Their point is that local artists are losing out on potential revenue in favor of quicker and easier (and cheaper) solutions.

In general, I agree with this. It would certainly be better to have an artist or graphic designer create the flyer for you if they are available and you have the means to pay them. However, I have to wonder, were those businesses ever going to hire local artists to create event flyers, or are the businesses who are using ChatGPT to create shitty flyers today the same businesses who used Microsoft Word to create shitty flyers yesterday? It seems like many small businesses long ago turned away from outsourcing their graphic design needs in favor of having an employee or intern in the office whip up something quick in MS Word or, more recently, Canva.

The issue I have with the “stop using AI to make shitty flyers and use real artists instead” argument is that it seems to be built on shame. The person who is using ChatGPT to create a flyer should be ashamed of themselves for taking opportunities away from local artists, not to mention the environmental impact (which is a whoooole separate discussion). Lots of social media posts say something to the effect that people who use AI to create things are less intelligent (e.g. “Let’s try intelligence before we try artificial intelligence.”) This seems hurtful and unhelpful. Moreover, it tends to be just more rage bait content that fuels social media algo feeds. People who use AI to generate local event flyers should not be made out to be inherently evil or stupid, which, whether intentional or not, is what many anti-AI social media posts suggest.

I don’t think people — and AI users are people, something that I think might fade into the background a little when people take to social media — should be publicly called out for using generative AI any more than people should be publicly called out for using social media to promote their art or driving your car to work instead of walking.

Yes, there are better alternatives out there and I think we’ll figure things out eventually, but let’s try not to shit on each other too hard in the meantime.