ANDY Hoffman is taking a small but very personal stand against the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI).
The 44-year-old graphic designer, who also leases and runs the cafe Home at Roto House in Port Macquarie, has banned posters, flyers, and other visual art produced using AI from the cafe’s noticeboard.
Hoffman wants to ‘keep it human’, adopting a ‘NO AI SLOP’ policy.
He believes the proliferation of low-effort, AI-generated imagery in graphic design is crushing ‘the very soul’ of his creative craft.
“As the graphic designer who built this cafe’s visual identity from the ground up, I need to talk about something weighing heavily on my soul,” he wrote in a local Facebook post.
“Every logo, poster, sign, menu, postcard, coffee-bean package and t-shirt you see here is the result of genuine human effort and care.
“AI replaces deliberate human choices with thoughtless, mass-produced approximations. Frankly, it’s heartbreaking to watch.
“So, effective immediately, our cafe now has a strict “NO Ai SLOP” policy for any promotional material in our space or involving our business.”
Like graphic design, Hoffman says hospitality is ‘fundamentally human’.
“The drinks we pour, the food we make, and the art we share should reflect real people putting in real work,” he wrote.
“We want our cafe to remain a sanctuary for authenticity, not a billboard for algorithms.”
His heartfelt protest won him plenty of positive feedback and support from people apprehensive about AI. He’s even picked up graphic design work.
However, Rebecca Nolan’s response on behalf of ‘Protecting Oxley Beach – say NO to the Ocean Pool’ reflected the dilemma unfunded organisations face to get their message seen in a highly visual, digital world.
“As a part of a totally unfunded volunteer community group, fighting against a really well-funded group, we sadly have to use AI to help us with graphic design,” she wrote.
“We don’t have those skills and no money to pay someone: it’s our only option.”
If AI ultimately wins the battle against human graphic designers, Hoffman has his hospitality skills to fall back on.
In the meantime, he’s watching – closely.
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