09/21/2026
Let's discuss AI.
It's a fun new toy. I get it. It's changing just about every industry, including ours. In some ways, there are efficiencies. Ad reports coming together in seconds (for us to then look over and make sense of, of course). Brainstorming. Deleting a background from an image easily. And so on. We use it for troubleshooting, for help with proposals. I love it for meeting minutes. Early on we used it to help with writing and now that we see how formulaic it is and recognize it everywhere, we are using it less for that. We stay on top of the wave because we like to be in the know. Being on the cutting edge is important in this kind of industry, to try things out when they become available so we can stay relevant.
I am not a purist, though I would like to be. The same part of me that wants to bake my own bread from scratch and sew my own clothes wants to never use AI. But even a Google search these days uses AI. It’s part of everything.
Now I'm seeing Advokate designs and brands being fed into the machine, though. It gives me such a gut punch to see something I created thoughtfully with years of experience and skill, with a sense of what competitors' brands are and how this stands apart, a deep understanding of the target audience and their tastes, the years of soaking in where this particular design needs to be in the sea of other designs, all chewed up and spit out by AI into some generic, brandless poster.
It feels so extremely wrong. Rainforest-on-fire wrong. Trash-island-in-the-ocean wrong. Straw-choking-a-turtle wrong.
I see folks who are all about supporting local businesses... using AI posters and graphics. I'm not sure where the disconnect is. Advokate is 100% a local business, investing in the community, sponsoring Little League teams, volunteering on boards, donating services, living and working here in a very big way. We pay Glens Falls taxes and are members of the PTA. All the things. Supporting local businesses means using your local graphic designers. If you can't afford someone like me, there are loads of graphic design students. Post in a Facebook group. Reach out to SUNY Adirondack.
I went to the Tunbridge Fair last weekend. The food trucks all have AI menus. I felt like I was in some kind of dystopian horror film.
A few weeks ago we saw Anthropic workers sounding the alarms about human extinction at the hands of AI. And we've all seen the headlines about data centers and their environmental impact. I thought, this is just like recycling. We can do our part as individuals but it's such small potatoes compared to what the large corporations are doing. Regulation has got to come from the government. Making a little graphic isn't the problem, it's the fact that there are no rules coming from above about limiting this use. The rules need to keep this thing in its cage.
Trump just came out saying he's going to accelerate AI and create an AI Force.
I'm not a luddite. AI is a part of our lives and it's changing everything. I have struggled to find the line here when it's not so black and white. If we don't adapt, we will be left behind. It makes our lives easier in many, many ways, saves time on so many things. AI can help. It can also harm. There is both a light and dark side to this revolution we are going through.
Advokate was created to keep independent businesses and nonprofits and artists afloat, to Robin Hood the marketing tools that the big companies are using so that we all have a chance to keep our doors open and not fold into the large conglomerates. AI use walks both those lines, making it so that small organizations can have, for example, an event poster, for free. But also it is harming small businesses like mine and deteriorating brand differentiation. It's a double-edged sword.
I suppose, all this to say: It's not such a clean do-or-don't, but please practice AI literacy.
Keep your eyes open about it. Know what to notice about an AI generated poster or message. See if it makes you feel something about that business or organization. I'm not here to shame folks for trying a new thing or cutting a corner, but we do need to stay knowledgeable. To notice.
And meanwhile, please keep supporting local businesses. The knowledge and context of the community and why and how you need to stand apart that a graphic designer brings to the table is so much more than just putting images and text together.
More than anything, more than any individual's use of the thing, AI needs regulation. Data centers need to be built thoughtfully with renewable resources and not built at all if they can't be designed in a net neutral way. The robot needs to stay in its cage. We can't let this thing go off without human oversight. Our government needs to keep us safe.
So, most of all: VOTE!
