AI Slops & AI Fails

Female soldier with amputated arm holding a birthday cake in a wheelchair, with a Slavic grandmother standing behind her, set in a garden with chickens. Both figures wear somber expressions, conveying resilience and the pain of war, against the backdrop o
30 June 2025

A Ukrainian Female Soldier's 25th Birthday

An AI Slop which combines vulnerability, national pride, and the struggles of war into an image designed to elicit sympathy. It juxtaposes the young soldier's tragedy with her resilience (celebrating her birthday despite the pain). It thus taps into a broad spectrum of emotions, from empathy to nationalistic pride, especially considering the Ukrainian flag. The elderly woman symbolizes familial support (and generational continuity?), which just adds to the sentiments. The "AI-ness" of this image is certainly blunt, but the emotional appeal resonates with all those who are drawn to inspirational stories of overcoming hardship (and who's not drawn to that?), which may explain the 8500 likes this Facebook post has accrued.