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.
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