Fuck AI

A series of images showing Elly Lin, an AI-generated person, perusing the museum while wearing various cultural clothing was shared to its Instagram page.

First, that isn’t an ‘AI generated person,’ it’s someone’s sock puppet avatar. Second, dressing up your sock puppet avatar in questionably depicted culture-specific garb like it’s a 1980s American Girl doll is both racist and cringe.

The AI pictures were first shared to Lin’s Instagram page back in October. The caption reads, “I know some might question why I admire the British Museum while acknowledging its controversial history. I understand the criticism. Yet from another perspective, these artifacts, though far from home, have been preserved and protected. Truthfully, many wouldn’t have survived the turbulence of the Cultural Revolution decades ago”.

So to sum up, the British Museum was boosting shiny, culturally appropriative AI images with an over simplified narrative on why looting these items (and by implication not returning them) is Good, Actually.

Once again demonstrating that the primary use of AI is propaganda.