Thanks for the feedback — I am a much better writer than I am a visual artist so I don’t use AI to generate the words.
I do spend a surprising-to-me amount of time on the images so I’m a little disappointed that they are still “slop,” unless all AI generated images are slop by definition.
In any event, if you have suggestions for better ways to create or find images for these posts I would welcome them.
The images are useful for sharing links on social media and so that each post has a distinct appearance on the front page for those who come to that.
For the podcast posts I use a variation on the podcast logo for each one, though I use AI to make the variations so I don’t know if James’s objection applies to those too.
It’s helpful to give the posts some kind of visually distinct thumbnails, but I’m open to other suggestions about how to do it. As you all know, marketing has never been my strong suit.
The images are fine. (And the whole slop debate is silly.)
The biggest thing holding them back is that most law review articles/law topics don't have a clear visual representation (which is also a problem for slide shows by law professors).
It’s not that AI=slop automatically, or that your images are bad. They’re better than the average AI-generated illustration I see, and it doesn’t surprise me that you put some effort into crafting prompts to get specific visual elements.
What makes them “slop,” at least in my aesthetic reaction, is that their style is so immediately recognizable as AI. I’ve seen hundreds of other images with similar composition, drawing styles, color palettes, etc. It’s utterly bland and generic; there is no trace of the human touch. You’re putting in a lot of effort to make something that is nothing special, when for the same effort you could make something that has much more of Will Baude in it. I would rather have another two paragraphs of your prose, or a sketch that you drew by hand, or an image made by an artist with a distinctive personal style.
AI slop images undermine the credibility of the words they accompany, because they make readers wonder whether you used generative AI for them, too.
Thanks for the feedback — I am a much better writer than I am a visual artist so I don’t use AI to generate the words.
I do spend a surprising-to-me amount of time on the images so I’m a little disappointed that they are still “slop,” unless all AI generated images are slop by definition.
In any event, if you have suggestions for better ways to create or find images for these posts I would welcome them.
Why not skip the image entirely, or if you must have one, use your logo?
This is a blog about legal affairs. One hopes your readers are not relying on a pretty picture each week to decide if they should read further.
The images are useful for sharing links on social media and so that each post has a distinct appearance on the front page for those who come to that.
For the podcast posts I use a variation on the podcast logo for each one, though I use AI to make the variations so I don’t know if James’s objection applies to those too.
It’s helpful to give the posts some kind of visually distinct thumbnails, but I’m open to other suggestions about how to do it. As you all know, marketing has never been my strong suit.
See if you can get in touch with the artists from Zoopreme Court.
https://zoopremecourt-blog.tumblr.com/
https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/zoopreme-court
https://f11f.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/zoopreme-court/
The images are fine. (And the whole slop debate is silly.)
The biggest thing holding them back is that most law review articles/law topics don't have a clear visual representation (which is also a problem for slide shows by law professors).
It’s not that AI=slop automatically, or that your images are bad. They’re better than the average AI-generated illustration I see, and it doesn’t surprise me that you put some effort into crafting prompts to get specific visual elements.
What makes them “slop,” at least in my aesthetic reaction, is that their style is so immediately recognizable as AI. I’ve seen hundreds of other images with similar composition, drawing styles, color palettes, etc. It’s utterly bland and generic; there is no trace of the human touch. You’re putting in a lot of effort to make something that is nothing special, when for the same effort you could make something that has much more of Will Baude in it. I would rather have another two paragraphs of your prose, or a sketch that you drew by hand, or an image made by an artist with a distinctive personal style.
Could also read up on The Second Bill of Rights book, website and overall project. It’s right up your alley.
https://www.secondbillofrights.us/