At first glance, the scene is idyllic: a friendly-looking rider stands next to a bike buckling her helmet in the sun, and a tree-lined path stretches to the distance.
The dissonance of the imagery quickly sets in, however, when you take a closer look at the bike, which – respectfully – is a total disaster. It’s missing a crank. The logos are in no earthly language. The chain is both inside and outside the rear wheel, which also has the ghost of a rim brake hovering above it – which is curious, seeing as it has disc brakes, too. The levers seem to be falling off the flat handlebar, and there’s a spare road handlebar lumpily dangling off the back of the saddle.
In other words, this is as clearcut an example of AI-generated imagery as you’re likely to come across.
Why, then, did outdoor gear coop REI push this imaginary product in its social media marketing for more than a week?
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