Bristol City Council has come under fire for using Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated artwork to promote its adult learning courses, sparking criticism from local artists who say the move undermines the very creative industries the courses are designed to support.
The 2025/26 course booklet, which was distributed to more than 70,000 households and organisations across Bristol and surrounding areas, featured an AI-created cover illustration. Observers quickly spotted telltale mistakes, including incorrect numbers of fingers and toes on the figures depicted.
Illustrator Adam Birch, who raised concerns with the council, said using AI on the cover of a publication meant to encourage creativity sends the wrong message.
“My concern was whether this devalues the very courses being promoted,” he explained. “Why encourage people to learn creative skills when the face of the guide seems to undermine their importance?”
Birch pointed out that the cover contained typical AI flaws. “The woman only has four fingers and what looks like seven toes. That’s always a giveaway,” he said.
Although he described the decision as “misguided rather than malicious,” Birch argued the council could easily have used photographs of real classes or student artwork instead. “It would have cost almost nothing to showcase actual creativity, rather than replacing it with something automated. By doing this, you’re erasing a job,” he said.
Other artists echoed his concerns. Luke Oram, an illustrator from South Gloucestershire, warned that AI could have a damaging impact on young graduates trying to enter the creative sector.
“I worry about a 22-year-old leaving university and already feeling shut out of opportunities because work that could have gone to them is being replaced by algorithms,” Oram said. “It risks alienating people from the very culture they want to be part of.”
Some in the industry also expressed frustration at growing pressure from employers to adopt AI tools, despite ethical and creative concerns. “AI is like fast food—we never stop to ask whether we should use it, only whether we can,” one Leamington Spa-based artist told the BBC.
Responding to the criticism, Bristol City Council leader Tony Dyer acknowledged the concerns. “AI offers opportunities for councils to adapt and improve services, but we understand the strong feelings residents have expressed about its use in this context,” he said.
Dyer added that since commissioning the booklet cover, the council has updated its guidance on AI use and is currently trialling limited applications while shaping broader policies.
No further print runs of the AI-designed booklet are planned.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822
