Art is in the eye of the beholder, but a few Redditors felt that a recent post featuring artificial intelligence-generated images did not make the cut.
One user in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit shared a picture they took in a Maryland mall gallery, which was selling prints of some beloved animated characters, sparking anger among the community for making a mockery of "real art."
One canvas showed Hello Kitty wearing headphones while smoking a joint. There are several telltale signs of its AI-generated origins; for example, she has two fingers on her left hand that are merging with her foot.
Hello Kitty always has three whiskers, whereas the print has just two. There is also strange paraphernalia beside her that people could not even begin to identify.
Another piece for sale shows Stitch standing on a dock while holding a bizarre amalgamation of the U.S. and Maryland flags. He is wearing a Maryland-themed sweater that, upon closer inspection, is off, and there is a building in the background that resembles the Maryland State House in Annapolis.
A second image of Stitch includes Jack Skellington from "The Nightmare Before Christmas." The pair is holding a heart and is surrounded by roses and sunflowers.
"They're not even polished lmao, so many AI tells in all of them, missing digits, off wrinkles, shapes with abnormal sides," one commenter wrote.
While the technology has pushed the boundaries of what constitutes art and often results in humorous images, the ends do not justify the means when considering the ecological footprint of AI-generated images.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported that AI-generated images are "by far the most energy- and carbon-intensive AI-based task." According to the article, using an AI model to create 1,000 images produces the same amount of carbon dioxide pollution as driving an average gas-powered car 4.1 miles.
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Though some commenters were indifferent to AI-based art and a few more defended it, the overwhelming majority expressed their outrage over the original post.
"How can people defend this incoherent garbage," a person wrote.
"This isn't a small issue, this can very well be the death of human-made art (i.e. real art), as creators and artists will keep getting squeezed out by cheaper, lower-quality, passionless, AI slop," another user said.
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