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Walmart Under Fire for Alleged Use of AI-Generated Art in Store

Walmart has recently come under intense scrutiny as allegations surface of the retail giant using AI-generated art in its stores. A Reddit user, @evolvedspice, shared a photo of an artwork being sold at Walmart, which they claim was generated through Artificial Intelligence. The eye-catching piece, priced at $22.15, is a perfect example of the AI’s capacity to create stunning visuals, but also reveals its inability to accurately generate text.

At first glance, the artwork features a striking perfume bottle adorned with vibrant floral patterns and set against a dark backdrop. However, upon closer inspection, the supposedly “designer” perfume’s brand is misspelled as “CHANE” rather than the intended “CHANEL,” with an odd double-H. Other indecipherable, near-English characters accompany the glaring mistake, a telltale sign of the use of AI-generated art. Reddit users on the r/AiArt sub have been debating this frequently encountered issue of inaccurate text generation in images created by machine learning algorithms.

The AI’s inability to produce legible, accurate text within images has been traced back to the software’s lack of contextual understanding. While software like ChatGPT can generate grammatically correct text in written form, the AI faces severe limitations when attempting to create text as part of a graphic. In discussions around DALL-E, the AI art generator that creates images using text prompts, the same issue arises as the AI is mainly optimized for visual creativity rather than textual accuracy.

High-profile companies have faced backlash in the past for utilizing AI-generated art for commercial purposes. A24, the film production company behind popular films like Good Time and Uncut Gems, faced controversy after allegedly using AI-generated images in promotional materials for their film Civil War. The advertising campaign featured numerous inconsistencies in the representations of US landmarks. Similarly, The Verge reported on Wizards of the Coast getting caught using AI-generated imagery despite their previous vows not to do so.

In response to @evolvedspice’s Reddit post, users shared various opinions and findings about the mystifying AI-created art piece. Some questioned the desirability of such artwork, while others expressed their disappointment in the apparent oversight in not correcting the text prior to printing. One user, @awesomedan24, identified the company “Design Art” as being responsible for generating and selling such pieces. Moreover, they provided links to similar AI-generated artwork being sold on the Bed Bath & Beyond website and the company’s own website.

As AI-generated art continues to permeate the commercial market, questions of authenticity and the role of such technology in creative industries are coming to the fore. At present, AI’s limitations in textual accuracy and contextual understanding remain noticeable, but as the technology progresses and improves, these issues may diminish. For now, the debate rages on, as both established brands and consumers grapple with the ethical implications of AI’s growing role in the world of art and design.