Why ‘AI food slop’ is making people so uncomfortable and upset

When Chris Murphy went into his local deli in late August, all the menu items had been replaced by uncanny, AI-generated images. The sandwiches depicted on the screen above the countertop displayed food with strange, repeated textures that looked hyperrealistic, yet somehow aggressively fake at the same time. It was the kind of "AI slop" that made Murphy’s stomach turn and appetite suppress.

The Chicago deli, which is located just across the street from Murphy’s office, only switched to the increasingly prolific AI-generated menu about a month ago. On their Yelp review page, there’s still photos of their old menu, which features generic food photography and text describing the contents of each sandwich. Had the original menu remained intact, Murphy said he would have placed an order.

But the food was "just so viscerally disgusting," he told USA TODAY. He showed his coworkers, who recoiled and begged him to take the images away. "They almost vomited," he said.

It’s part of a growing trend where AI-generated designs are increasingly replacing traditional advertisements. AI-generated flyers have been popping up more frequently in public places, plastering generic signage around cities and establishments, often to the dismay of passersby. These menus filled with…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/