AI Slop Isn't Just Wrong, It's Deathly Boring

I’m working on a project and as part of it I came across this picture.

OK, this is pretty clearly MidJourney AI history slop. It is supposed to represent the Abernathy brothers, a famous duo from the 1910s. They gained their fame in the early 1900s for undertaking cross-country journeys as unaccompanied children. In 1910, at ages 10 and 6, they rode horseback from Oklahoma to New York City to meet ex-President Theodore Roosevelt, and became nationwide celebrities​. They followed this up with a transcontinental horseride in 1911, setting a speed record. In 1913, pooling some money from earlier stunts, they bought an Indian 1000cc motorcycle, and drove it from Oklahoma to New York City​ — then retired from public life at the wise old ages of 13 and 10.

So this story goes around, mostly shared as evidence of how kids today are too pampered, along with the photo above, which, as mentioned, is slop. Fine. Happens a lot.

But for my project I had to make absolutely sure it was AI. I know it’s obvious, but that is not generally enough for me. I needed proof. So I went and found a real photograph of them on the motorcycle, freely available at the Library of Congress:

This is honestly the coolest picture I’ve seen in a month. Every bit of it is rich with meaning and resonance.

What are we doing here? Why are we sucking history through a straw?

I am at a loss for words.