Monday, 29 December 2025

Some follow-up on the looks-like-AI-slop “painting” Tim Cook posted on Twitter/X on Christmas Eve to promote the Pluribus season finale. Slashdot contacted the credited artist, Keith Thomson, and quoted this interaction with him:

Slashdot: I just wanted to confirm that that’s your work... If it is your work, can you say anything about what software you used when creating the image?

Thomson: I’m unable to comment on specific client projects. In general, I always draw and paint by hand and sometimes incorporate standard digital tools.

That is a non-denial denial that he used generative AI to create the image.

Dwayne Cubbins at PiunikaWeb also contacted Keith Thomson and got this statement:

The artist, Keith Thomson, responded to my request for a comment, stating that they “always draw by hand and sometimes incorporate standard digital tools.”

That is the same non-denial denial, because “standard digital tools” might include generative AI.

MG Siegler wonders if it’s a deliberate allegory to some of the themes from the show, writing:

Keith Thomson using AI to produce art that’s like Keith Thomson’s art because it’s trained on Keith Thomson’s art. How’s that for a mindfuck?

I’m sure I’m reading wayyyy too much into that tweet (and retweet), but given my previous post about Pluribus as an AI allegory, I think it’s sort of interesting to think about in that context.

MG’s posts have some spoilers re: Pluribus, so follow those links at your own risk. Pluribus is best enjoyed if you start watching it knowing as little about it as possible. But without spoiling anything, I think MG didn’t put enough y’s in the wayyyy in “I’m sure I’m reading wayyyy too much into that tweet”. There is no 3D chess being played here.

I wrote just a few months ago that I firmly believe generative AI tools not only can be, but already are, used to create genuine art. My problem with AI slop isn’t the AI, it’s the slop. Whatever “standard digital tools” Keith Thomson used to create this, the result is a turd.

Pluribus, among numerous other merits, is a beautifully filmed show. Thomson’s published paintings are beautiful. The image Tim Cook posted on Twitter/X (and which the Apple TV account retweeted) is ugly and awkward. It either is AI-generated slop or it looks like AI-generated slop for no artistic or thematic reason whatsoever. Occam’s razor would suggest the conclusion that it simply is AI-generated slop, and Keith Thomson suckered Apple into paying for it.