Everywhere, I’m seeing YouTube thumbnails, event posters, social video, and marketing that have all been churned out by AI. While this is just the tip of the iceberg when we consider what other parts of our lives AI is rapidly encroaching into, it’s a bit worrying to me that an industry driven by and created by people is increasingly turning to AI. Cycling is inherently about people, so I think stuff created by AI shouldn’t mix it, or sports in general.

I will preface my rant by stating that I am incredibly against artificial intelligence in the creative space. While I can recognise its utility in other areas, I am naturally a creative human, and honestly, it’s hurting my job. 

This is my writing you’re reading, and I’ve been a commercial photographer for 15 years or so now. I’m a huge appreciator of the arts in many, many forms. I love the work of Caravaggio just as much as I appreciate Coheed and Cambria’s music, and the Blade Runner films are amongst my top five. Let’s not forget about Alien… well ahead of its time, I tell you, as everyone else says.

My appreciation only grows knowing that people were behind these awesome things. These people have mastered their crafts to create things that only inspire awe, in my eyes. Coca-Cola’s Christmas advert, however, lacked soul and felt like a ruse, regardless of how much care was used when writing its thousands of prompts…

But, as with everything, artificial intelligence is creeping into the cycling world in a whole bunch of ways. For example, Fox’s current range of suspension forks uses crowns with a handful of holes in them, cut to shed grams while boosting stiffness. This came as a result of generative design, and admittedly it works rather well.

All over YouTube, there are AI-generated thumbnails; events use posters generated by AI to promote themselves, and I’ve seen brands at shows displaying full banners filled with AI-generated materials. I fully understand that time is valuable, and it can take time to learn the skills required. Hiring very talented artists to create such things can be expensive, but there are some real negatives and trends appearing. 

Everything is beginning to look AI-generated. And just to circle back on hiring talent to create things for you: yes, it’s cheaper to throw something into ChatGPT for it to throw up for you, but there are a lot of aspiring graphic designers, photographers, videographers, copywriters, and more looking to get a foothold in their respective industries. Hiring people this way does a lot of good by giving these people an opportunity to shine, but also by developing what could be long-standing and mutually beneficial relationships, all while making work that’s more attractive but, importantly, more effective.

AI similarities translate into other industries, too; but how is a brand, event, product, or image meant to stand out amongst the crowd when the poster, picture, or YouTube thumbnail follows an identical style to everything else? A touch of false advertising can creep in here, too, as I’ve seen images of products from brands where the products are misleadingly large compared to the generate scenery they are shown in.

That’s not to say that brands using traditional techniques haven’t got it wrong in the past. Take Jaguar’s controversial rebrand, for example. And I’ve even heard stories of cycling brands of yesteryear hiring women to parade around their trade stands at shows, wearing nothing but body paint. Not cool.

Cycling is one of many industries that is made by people, to create something for people. The people aspect is a huge part of why I enjoy my job so much, and seeing people’s influence on their brand is what creates the iconic images and identities of brands like YT Industries, known for hiring folk like Christopher Walken to star in a film… for a bike. That particular campaign aired years ago now, yet it still sticks in my mind, and is an ingredient that makes that brand unique, ignoring YT’s recent turmoil for a moment. 

The types of people who build those instantly recognisable campaigns are those who have experienced cycling first-hand for years, too. Folk like brand managers are out there riding bikes, chatting to other riders and getting properly stuck into the community. With that, they know what consumers want (let’s ignore 32-inch wheels for now), and they know how consumers feel about the nuances of cycling in general. That’s not to say that AI doesn’t, but AI has never ridden a bike. 

Even if the good old personal touch leads brands, influencers and the like to make mistakes, I’d rather that than have a dystopian similarity when scrolling the socials, or picking which video I’d like to watch next. Those mistakes, quirks, and nuances are what make something recognisable, get people talking, and incite an emotional response, for better or worse. Not the same old AI-generated copy slapped onto an AI-filtered image.

Cycling is aspirational, which can be good, and sometimes exclusionary (which is a topic for another day). I want to see pictures and videos of actual places that I might want to ride. I want to see what can be done with a bike by people who know how to ride them. I want to be inspired to ride my bike. At the moment, AI-generated content cannot do that. 

While my Photoshop skills aren’t developed for much more than editing pictures, and my YouTube thumbnails are probably a bit naff (see above), I’d rather be known for creating naff thumbnails than slamming pictures through the AI machine to make something for me that looks similar to other AI-generated assets, to then get lost in the sea of other AI-generated thumbnails. Hopefully, my fumbling through programs like Photoshop shows a bit more personality, or at least, care.

For most of us, cycling is a passion. With passion comes emotion, and with emotion comes being human. Watering down that emotion, whether you’re a brand, influencer, or event organiser, leads to exactly that. A lack of emotion. That human connection is what cycling is all about, and that can be experienced first-hand by going out and riding with mates.

Scrape that, AI.