Restaurant's 'AI Slop' Menu Draws Massive Backlash In AI's Ground-Zero

SAN FRANCISCO — The owners of a newly opened cafe in San Francisco recently came under fire for using AI imagery to promote their business.

A Reddit post titled “Yum, slop” on the r/sanfrancisco subreddit shows a picture of the window at Grind & Unwind on Haight Street, in which the business appears to have placed an array of AI images of various menu items, including coffee and sandwiches. The post has received over 700 upvotes and 200 comments since it was published roughly three weeks ago.

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“I automatically lose some respect for a business that chooses to use AI like this,” one commenter wrote. “As others have said, this clearly was very low effort and looks way too obviously AI. Unfortunately, I believe there really are people out here who somehow wouldn't see this for what it is, and just believe it. A shame.”

The situation escalated this month, when someone spray-painted the word “seriously” outside the business, NBC Bay Area reported.

Owner Lyndsey Lozano told NBC the signage was temporary and it has since been taken down, with the window instead offering passersby a look directly in at the pastries inside.

“I want people to come to our restaurant, but, like, why is this such a big deal that it influences people on such intense level,” Lozano said to SFGate. “Like, is it really that horrific that you have to act on such a feeling?”