Shoppers call out bizarre products taking over farmers market stalls: 'Who is going to buy any of that?'

Local farmers markets are the last place you'd expect to find AI. Even more unsightly are the large quantities of products imported and sold for cheap to ultimately end up in a landfill that are populating farmers market stands.

The viral photo shared on Reddit has left the r/mildlyinfuriating community enraged as they worry about AI's prominence continuing to use copious amounts of energy, contributing to enormous carbon pollution.

"AI 'art' is infiltrating my local farmers market," wrote the OP along with the photo, which displays numerous pillow coverings with blatant AI figures printed on them.

Commenters believe the cushions are printed plastic coverings, further contributing to the environmental harm. On top of that, each pillow cost $20.

"This is just sad all around," wrote one commenter. "Who is going to buy any of that? It's straight to the landfill."

Numerous fears are arising from AI art. Artists fear that art's unique, human touch is diminished when AI models create it. Environmentally, AI art can cause rapid consumerism of needless waste that ends up in landfills, all the while being produced with massive amounts of water and energy.

The MIT Technology Review documented a study from 2023 that found "generating 1,000 images with a powerful AI model, such as Stable Diffusion XL, is responsible for roughly as much carbon dioxide as driving the equivalent of 4.1 miles in an average gasoline-powered car."

These emissions, combined with the sheer amount of pollution it takes to print, create, and transport hundreds of pillowcase prints, are the ingredients for a disappointing environmental impact.

The outraged Redditors are in agreement.

What's your primary motivation in shopping at thrift stores? Cheaper clothes 🤑 Trendier items 😎 Reduced environmental impact 🌎 I don't thrift 🚫 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"There's so much AI art in that photo that I actually thought the photo you took was AI-generated," wrote one commenter.

Others are disappointed that farmers markets are being overtaken by goods that are no longer sourced with sustainability in mind.

"'Farmers' market' means 'Ali Express' sourced s***?" another exasperatedly wrote.

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