Greens call on Glasgow City Council to learn from “AI slop” furore
A planning application using AI generated concept art has been approved by Glasgow City Council using the Elmbank Street building in Glasgow City Centre.
Glasgow City Council have outlined five core principles in their Digital Glasgow Strategy 2024-2030, including ‘Collaborative and in Partnership’, going on to say "We [Glasgow City Council] will work in partnership and collaboration with communities from across the public , private, academic and third sectors in the city. We will use digital tools to improve partnership and collaboration in the city.”
The Scottish Greens are calling on Glasgow City Council to honour its own code and values to ensure that AI generated is not used to replace workers and instead, call for Glasgow City Council to, in their own words, work in partnership and collaboration with communities and local artists in Glasgow.
Scottish Green Councillors in Glasgow are calling for a city-wide AI strategy, and for rail-guards in place to prevent misuse of AI within its new City Development Plan, due to go to consultation this summer.
City Centre Councillor and Culture spokesperson Christy Mearns has called for greater diversity of art on Glasgow’s murals, in particular more women to be commissioned, along with controls on AI.
Glasgow MSP, Patrick Harvie said:
“Glasgow City Council must learn from the reaction to this issue, and ensure that developers do not rely on AI rather than the huge pool of talent Glasgow and the rest of Scotland has to offer. Failure to put clear rules in place will dismay Scotland’s creative arts sector.
“The use of AI slop must not take hold.
“It’s artistically worthless, and contributes to the erosion of local artists’ employment opportunities, at a time when artists are already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
“Glasgow is a proud post-industrial cultural hub with amazing artists doing work that’s recognised around the world. All councils in Scotland should be supporting local artists, not replacing them.
“The only people that benefit from replacing human creativity in our communities with algorithms are the super-rich owners of the AI companies that rip-off artists’ work, without seeking proper consent.
“AI undoubtedly offers both opportunities and risks, but the opportunities are being hyped and the risks too often ignored. The Scottish Greens advocate for a responsible use of AI, with robust regulation and safeguards to ensure people and planet are put before profit.
Councillor Christy Mearns said:
“Glasgow has so much artistic talent and this really does beg the question of whether there is much artistic merit here, especially if the final design bears any resemblance to this uninspiring and generic depiction of a Scottish landscape.
“We have so much diverse talent in our city, so we should be actively seeking artworks from less represented groups to broaden opportunities, as well as providing more variation and interest onto our streets”