Bureaucrats working in the European Parliament have been asked to vote on whether the body should publish Christmas cards sporting AI-generated artwork, Brussels Signal can report.
In an email circulated throughout the parliament, workers and MEPs will pick from a variety of Christmas card designs submitted by staff throughout the institution, with the winners’ efforts to be produced “in digital form” alongside professional designs done by the EP.
Some of these staff designs sport AI-generated art, with documents seen by Brussels Signal indicating that at least three feature such content.
Other designs sport more traditional scenes involving Christmas trees, winter animals and snowy landscapes that were created with methods seen as less controversial within the art sphere.
One parliament insider commented that many of the designs had nevertheless been impacted by what was termed the rampant desire for political correctness in the parliament.
“Several can’t even say Merry Christmas because it’s racist,” they said.
Other amateur designers took the opposite approach, unafraid to emblazon their submissions with religious imagery and commentary.
Some of the cards even sported multiple languages, along with themes reflecting the internal linguistic and cultural diversity of the EU member states.
Some leaned more heavily into the increasingly surreal, tech-obsessed side of the European Union, opting to make designs to seemingly reference the bloc’s fascination with digital regulation.
Others opted to mock what they saw as the EU’s obsession with regulation itself, with one card reducing the story of Jesus’ birth to a parliament agenda document.
While some of the designs are more creative than others, the selection overall appeared to have failed to impress those inside and outside the EP.
Even the last card above did not do much to impress at the Brussels Signal office.
An editor reacted with the word “agony” upon viewing the selection and, while praising the card mimicking a special committee agenda and another sporting a nativity scene, said they collectively illustrated the “artistic ability I usually find in the card rack at the petrol station”.
One reporter described the inclusion of AI art as “a choice” before opining that most of the selection “are rubbish”.
“It’s impressive how bad they are,” our scribe added.
Europe should focus on developing its own brand of artificial intelligence (AI) and leave the issue of its regulation for later, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. https://t.co/obl4S4FwEm
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 2, 2024
