Michaels shopper Jack Valentine (@flippedthrift) was miffed after seeing that the chain was selling what he says is clearly AI-generated artwork.
“I saw online this morning that Michaels may be using AI art for their Halloween line,” he starts, heading into the store. “When I walked in, sure enough, all of the Halloween was out but there was one piece in particular that I was looking for.”
A disappointed customer
He then focuses his attention on a piece of wall decor showing a bride wraith draped in white, flowing robes. She looks like death and is surrounded by several white wolves. Valentine began breaking down just what was off about the imagery.
“Right off the bat, I noticed how poor quality this art piece was, the trees in the back are horrendously blurry. I don’t remember wolves having three front legs, either,” he says, pointing to a strange detail about the limbs in the right bottom corner.
But that’s not the only thing he noticed—the art had watermarks.
“Sure enough, clear as day, right at the bottom you can see a robot logo as well as a Freepik logo. Freepik is an AI photo and art creating website this is so disappointing. It’s also so obvious.”
@flippedthrift SUPER dissapointed with Michael’s this year… #halloween #michaels #michaelshalloween #ai #aiart @Michaels Stores ♬ Halloween ・ cute horror song – PeriTune
Valentine’s video then transitions to him walking outside of the store. He shakes his head in disappointment as he looks into the camera lens: “As a store that specializes in selling art supplies and has a customer base of artists, you should be supporting real artists, Michaels.”
He added in the caption, “SUPER disappointed with Michael’s this year…”
Is AI taking over retail stores?
This isn’t the first time a major retailer has been caught allegedly trying to sell AI-generated artwork. Walmart previously went viral when an art piece of a Chanel-style perfume looked like it was made by AI.
Many have discussed, ad-nauseam, the ethics of profiting from AI-generated artwork. One Redditor argued that they don’t see an issue with folks crafting good works of art using artificial intelligence. They argued that making sure the art looks perfect actually requires work and a certain level of skill.
“I argue that the creation of AI Art still requires practice, vision, skill, and experience,” they wrote. “In regards to stealing art from other artists, well I could go to Fiverr or Deviant Art and commission a One Piece, Dragon Ball, or fakemon OC or design. Artist replicate and use other styles all the time.”
Someone else appeared to agree with their points, stating that artificial intelligence itself isn’t unethical but how people choose to use it is.
“It’s not inherently unethical. It’s a software tool,” the user wrote. “Does it have unethical uses? Sure. So does almost everything, including traditional art. You can murder somebody with a kitchen knife, but that doesn’t make the knife unethical. In fact, it’s nonsensical to even ask whether a knife is ethical or not – inanimate objects don’t have ethics.”
A Medium piece on the “ethical” possibilities of creating A.I.-generated artwork and All Things AI explored whether folks can “legally use AI-generated art,” It stated that while folks can “generally use AI-generated art legally” there are ultimately “a few things to keep in mind” such as copyright and fair use laws, as well as the terms of service for different AI art generators. The online resource also delineates ways people can earn money off AI-generated art.
Viewers weigh in
Several TikTokers said they were shocked this piece was being sold.
One person wrote, “MICHAELS NO MICHAELS WHY,” while another simply said, “Not the logo.”
Someone else remarked, “They didn’t even TRY!!”
“Clearly this isn’t being checked by anyone like,” Valentine wrote.
One TikToker wasn’t surprised to see the pivot being made to AI-generated artwork. “I KNEW they would start doing this. if AI art is going anywhere, it’ll be to those art pieces sold at Ross, Michaels, HomeGoods and TJ Maxx,” they said.
Others couldn’t believe why Michael’s wouldn’t just collaborate with artists: “They could easily commission a few artists every year to come up with different themed Halloween stuff.”
Valentine replied, “There are literally so many artists dying for work that don’t even require a massive paycheck.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Michaels via email and Valentine via Instagram direct message.
Update Aug. 5, 2024:
A Michaels spokesperson shared the following statement:
“This artwork was purchased from a vendor who licensed the original source material from an artist. Without our knowledge, the vendor added an AI-generated layer to the image. This is an unacceptable error that we are addressing by removing the product from our website and stores, and offering refunds to any customers who purchased it. Michaels will always support artists and will be taking steps to prevent this from happening again in the future.”
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