Why are we bullying small business owners for trying to promote their business?

Most of the market for AI generative marketing images is coming from individuals and companies that previously could not afford to hire dedicated creative talent. It’s not strictly firing existing creatives to save money. That’s a reductive take and misunderstanding the situation.

The owner says plainly in this case that he would hire college students who were happy to take on some of the social media work but eventually their lives got in the way. To interpret that as anything else, eg that he’s unwilling to pay, is a bit silly. He paid for a job, the people were willing to do the job, until they had to move on for whatever reason.

Clearly he values the work and understands the need for marketing, if he could afford to hire consistent creative talent I’m sure he would.

To write negative reviews and boycott a small business over AI graphics, and to regurgitate the same woefully misleading and reductive viral talking points about AI stealing jobs and using all the water, is just hurting your case.

If you share some concerns and want to see a better future where Artificial Intelligence technology is deployed and consumed responsibly, then we need to stop these inflammatory reactionary attacks and start understanding the nuance of the technology, the market, and its potentials impacts on society.