Buffalo Bills AI image incident — Sep 2024

On September 17, 2024, the Buffalo Bills shared an Instagram post in collaboration with Prime Video, the National Football League (NFL), NFL on Prime, and Culture Rated that utilized artificial intelligence to promote Sports on Prime. The promotional image featured AI-generated depictions of players James Cook, Dalton Kincaid, Dion Dawkins, and Josh Allen celebrating in a stadium box surrounded by team decor and chicken wings.

What happened

The post, captioned "The perfect housewarming gift for Bills Mafia," drew immediate criticism from fans and local creators who questioned why a major organization would use synthetic media rather than hiring local artists. Critics pointed out that the Buffalo community has a deep-rooted culture of supporting local muralists and artists, many of whom frequently create work celebrating the team. Francesca Serra, founder of the Blue Cheese Arts Nonprofit, expressed frustration, noting that the organization had previously employed artists for physical stadium installations and could have easily commissioned a human designer for the social media content.

Fans echoed these sentiments in the comments section, with many arguing that multi-billion dollar entities have the financial means to support human labor rather than relying on generative AI. The backlash highlighted broader anxieties among local creatives regarding the impact of AI on their professional futures. Despite the negative reception and public calls to avoid using AI for team celebrations, the post remains live on the collaborators' social media feeds, and the Buffalo Bills have not issued a formal response to the controversy.