Boomers are creating a wave of “grandmAIslop” that Gen Z and Millennials hate. Older relatives are having a blast using AI to turn pictures of their grandkids into glossy-eyed, uncanny-valley-perfect ecards, books, keychains, and of course, social media posts. AI-retouched and generated photos of kids are becoming a norm on Facebook, and Reddit and TikTok are full of conversations about older relatives making cringe AI content out of family images. Though these AI-artist relatives have the best of intentions, Millennial and Gen Z parents are extremely concerned that their children’s privacy is being put at risk when their photos are uploaded onto whatever AI image generator sites grandma and grandpa are using. As one mom explains, “We all aren’t educated enough about what AI companies are doing with our content.” It’s an evolution of a longer-term battle between Millennials and Boomers about whether posting photos of kids to social media without their consent is okay at all—but with fears around AI escalating, the generation gap on the issue is widening. (Business Insider, Thred)
