When AI Art Fools Nobody: Lessons For Your Business

You might have seen the headlines about the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team getting into hot water recently. They shared an animated video promoting their partnership with Nestle, and people quickly pointed out that it looked a lot like it was made with AI — Artificial Intelligence. The team initially suggested a human animator was behind it, but the online community wasn't fooled.

This incident highlights a growing issue with AI-generated art, sometimes called 'AI slop' by critics. While AI tools can create impressive images and animations quickly, they can also produce strange, unnatural results, like hands with too many fingers or odd textures. In this case, the art felt generic and lacked the unique touch of a human artist, leading to a public backlash and a bit of a PR headache for the Blue Jays.

For Australian small business owners, this is a valuable lesson. While AI tools for content creation are becoming more accessible and powerful, using them carelessly can backfire. Your customers, just like baseball fans, value authenticity and quality. If your marketing materials look obviously AI-generated and generic, it could undermine trust and even harm your brand's reputation.

It’s not about avoiding AI entirely; it's about using it smartly. AI can be a fantastic tool for generating ideas, speeding up initial drafts, or handling repetitive tasks. But for anything client-facing or brand-critical, human oversight is still essential. Think of AI as a helpful assistant, not a replacement for genuine creativity and human connection. Ensuring your final product feels authentic and reflects your brand's values is more important than ever in the age of AI.