Generating a flyer now takes just a few seconds. It is precisely this ease that creates a new problem: in certain contexts, audiences do not view AI as innovation, but rather as a lack of creative investment.
In Australia, a venue apologized following criticism over artificially generated promotional material, in a discussion that engaged illustrators and designers. The incident highlights a conflict running through music, publishing, venues, and festivals.
Cost is not the only value of design
A promotional image does not merely convey information. It communicates the kind of community an organization wants to build. Commissioning an illustrator also means participating in a cultural ecosystem.
When an entity that relies on creativity replaces creative labor with a generator, audiences may perceive a sharper contradiction than that produced by automation in other industries.
AI makes the value of the human visible
Paradoxically, the availability of nearly free imagery could increase the symbolic value of demonstrably human work. An illustrated poster can become an editorial choice, like vinyl in the streaming era.
The question will not be whether to use generative tools at all, but rather when efficiency enhances the product and when it undermines its cultural significance.
