Oh Emma, Another article about AI? You betcha. Not only am I hyperfixated on bonnets and bags right now, but I am also obsessing over the catastrophe that is the rise (and hopeful fall) of Generative AI. Specifically, how so many yarn brands are jumping on the bandwagon and hemorrhaging customers, clients and respect due to their inability to read the room, the creative industry and their client base.
I am not going to be talking too much about those awful Gen AI images that plague Facebook groups (although there is one if you scroll down, just as an example), nor am I going to be talking about Assistive AI that unavoidably runs in the background of a lot of software we use during our working day. Unfortunately a lot of us have no choice but to use apps and programmes that use this type of AI and some workplaces even require their staff to make use of it in their 9-5. It also has be said that Assistive AI (I am so resisting the temptation to call it “Ass AI”) has a place in some medical fields and can helps with research, detecting illnesses etc. But, look, this is not about that. This is about the ever increasing plague of yarn brands who are proudly announcing the fact that they love Gen AI and proudly use it, post faux-sincere posts calling themselves out, pretend to be interested in some kind of debate about the ethics of using it (spoiler alert: there is no ethical use of it), then close the comments, play the victim and shout about disrespect when people share how appalled they are. Yeah, those twats.
Whilst your here, for more about one specific brand that so catastrophically scored an own goal that they relegated themselves down to third division overnight, please see my previous tome about Hobbii and their love of AI for all the information. You won’t want to miss it. It’s tragic.
How are some brands so out of touch about this? How can they not know that the greatest majority of yarn artists hate Gen AI?
I have asked myself this question numerous times over the last few weeks and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, in all honesty. I find it enraging and ridiculous because the way some brands have tried to justify their use of slop is simply cringeworthy. One brand even said that the person who writes their “creative” (are you for real) copy and records their videos needs to use-AI generated scripts because they have ADHD and would waffle on too much otherwise. I mean, nice try, but using your neurodivergence as an excuse for being lazy and using scraped, stolen content is beyond offensive.
At best, this is about ignorance and laziess, and, at worst it’s brands holding their clientele in deliberate contempt, as well as designers and the creative industry as a whole. Maybe saving time and money is more important to these brands than the people who buy from them? Maybe they have so little respect for their customers that they think they can distort the photos of their products, turn them into slop and people won’t notice how much they’ve fiddled the images until the item arrives on their doorstep? Maybe they never really understood the craft industry in the first place and just peddled nonsense about “supporting handmade” for clout when in reality they never cared at all? Maybe they are just greedy and we were gaslit? You cannot scream SUPPORT HANDMADE while replacing actual human creativity with a machine trained to mimic it.
Beware. As I’ll talk about in a sec, some brands ARE using AI but use cheeky strategies to hide it. A lot of brands at the moment are currently banking on vagueness. They sort-of know people are uncomfortable with AI, so instead of openly saying “yes, we use it”, they hide behind phrases like: “innovative technology”, “digital enhancement”, “creative tools”, “AI-assisted workflow”. Here’s an interesting fact as well, if a brand is using AI for one thing then they’re definitely using it for another. It’s just too tempting.
Ok, so some brands and designers are calling themseves out, and that helps us make better choices about who we support, but what about the ones that don’t say that they use it?
This is an interesting one, because AI is obvious to some of us but others find it more complex to spot. I have no beef with people who find it hard to identify, and we should strive to educate people rather than berate them. For your information though, Gen AI videos and images tend to stick out like a sore thumb to those of us who have understood what to spot – think too-perfect, weirdly smudged, puzzling stitches that don’t look right, strange depth, odd movements in videos… It’s all easy to see when you train your eye to it. AI text is also quite simple to pick out too, as it tends to follow the same pattern. I’ll bet you a tenner that you’ve definitely seen these around, e.g. “Not just X, but also Y”, phrases like “delve into”, overuse of adverbs/adjectives like gentle/gently/whimsical…. That dosn’t mean that everyone who uses these words is generating their captions in ChatGPT, but do look our for repetitive structures. By the way, I find it particularly annoying when fellow very small businesses and independent designers clearly generate the captions under their Insta posts. It’s so noticeable and pure laziness. If anything gives you a suspicious feeling, like most things in life, you’re probably right. Follow your gut, friends.
Vote with your feet, cash, block button
One of the easiest ways to fight against the filling of the yarny slop bucket is to simply not buy from brands you know use AI.
Once again, you might not know if they do, but when you do keep your hands on that wallet. Don’t purchase from them, instead of sharing their posts, share the fact that they use Gen AI, block them from social media and, if possible, message them like a Karen and tell them why you’ve done so. Ask them questions. Screenshot it. Talk about it elsewhere. Warn people privately or on your own platforms. Block them if necessary. Don’t comment under their post unless you must (rookie error I committed earlier) as this gives them more engagement, negative engagement works better than positive, sadly. Talking about it on your own platform works better and funnels the engagement to you, not them.
Shop smaller, support indie dyers, elevate makers with an anti-AI stance
This sounds obvious, but I think people underestimate how powerful positive support is.
The thing that really gets me is that fibre arts communities already care deeply about ethics in literally every other area of the industry. People will quite rightly have massive discussions about mulesing, fast fashion, exploitation in garment factories, dropshipping scams pretending to be “small businesses”, stolen patterns being ripped off from independent designers and underpaid labour throughout the textile world. Crafters have spent years trying to shop more consciously and support businesses that align with their values, so why on earth would Generative AI suddenly get a free pass? Especially when these systems are built on scraping, exploiting and devaluing creative work in the first place. The outrage around AI isn’t some random overreaction that appeared out of nowhere.
So, if you know indie dyers, designers, illustrators, tech eds, sample knitters, yarn shops and everyone inbetween who have an anti-AI stance, give them a shout and support them loudly, especially if you have a large following. This is a fantastic way of cancelling out the slop and making smaller craft professionals feel heard and supported.
Make your own stance on AI clear on your website (like me) and social media. Yes, even if you use AI.
I don’t think there’s an ethical, justifiable use of AI in the craft industry, but if you do sloppify your content – boo you – make sure you label it, talk about it and don’t mug people off. If you’re one of the fantastic ones who don’t use AI, shout it loud in your bio and information page. That way your customers, followers and supporters will know what you’re about and where you stand.
Where do we go from here?
Some people might get irritated by people in the creative industry constantly banging on about AI, but the purpose of this is to be annoying. AI is rammed down our throats everywhere. AI needs to – has to – be seen as cringe, embarrassing, devoid of creativity, of low-quality, immoral and unthrustworthy for it to die, and this can only happen when we stand up and talk about it openly. Naming and shaming brands who use it shouldn’t be aggressive or slanderous, but spreading the word is important if we truly care for our beautiful creative world. Talent, humanity, imperfection, human ingenuity, skill and the slowness of yarn crafts is what people want. I am hoping that the tangible rejection we are seeing of AI in our world will start to have an effect soon and brands we previously trusted will see the error of their ways and go back to what they originally claimed to support, but that only happens when we fight back together.
I do not think people should simply accept the spread of AI in crafting spaces as inevitable. Consumer culture is shaped by what people tolerate and reward. The yarn industry is relatively small, and reputation matters enormously within it. Customers talk to one another (we really do), designers share information (all the tea) and communities form strong opinions very quickly. If enough people choose to support brands that prioritise human creativity and transparency, businesses will notice that preference.
That does not mean individuals have to engage in endless hostility or online rows and hate. Often the most effective response is simply being intentional and thinking about where your cash and attention go. Ultimately, I think many crafters are resisting Generative AI because they recognise that fibre arts are about far more than producing content or selling products. Let’s not forget the central issue here. People do not come to knitting, crochet, weaving or spinning looking for automation. The fact is that they come to these crafts looking for humanity, flaws, friendship and a slow way of living in a world that seems to be folding in on itself. let’s protect it – Isn’t it our duty at this point?
I hope you enjoyed this article and I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Have a creative day,
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