- An employee used a very bad AI-generated image to advertise graphic designer jobs on Xbox
- The picture shows a woman writing code that somehow appears on the back of a computer screen, among other problems
- The ad is especially awkward as Microsoft has recently ended with dismissing more than 9,000 people
A post about LinkedIn looking for graphic designers for Xbox becomes viral to the irony of terrible AI-generated graphics. Principal Development Lead for Xbox Graphics, Mike Matsel, shared a post announcing the roles, accompanied by what at first glance seems to be an innocent cartoon of a woman on a workstation writing code. Apart from the code is on the back of her screen and this is just the beginning of the problems with the image.
The fact that Microsoft concluded the latest of several redundancies affecting a total of more than 9,000 people, including many in the Xbox division, just a few weeks ago, makes it even more awkward.
The more you examine the image, the more obvious it becomes that it (badly) is produced with AI. The computer is not connected to something, the desk falls away in nothingness and the shadows do not make sense. Plus, would Microsoft have a graphic of someone who clearly uses Apple headphones? Not to mention the fact that by 2025 you are very unlikely to see someone with the led iPhone headphones almost 20 years ago.
The picture at least sells the idea that Microsoft desperately needs graphic designers, or at least people who know when graphics are very wrong. The dozens of comments on the post emphasize how annoyingly many people find the position. Much is from developers and graphic designers who may otherwise be interested in the positions.
Awkward AI
The fact that this was not only a bad picture, but one that undermines the whole point of the job advertised is truly amazing. It’s like handing out flyers to a bakery that uses clip art of a melting candle with “bread” written on the attached label.
It’s so bizarre bad that more than a few commentators wondered if it was intentional. It may be a way to draw attention to the open positions, or unlikely, as this may be, a form of malicious compliance from someone instructed to use AI to advertise the open jobs after their colleagues in these positions were recently escaped. Or maybe it was the sharpest satire ever seen on LinkedIn.
These are wildly unlikely theories, but it says they are not completely impossible. An ad that symbolizes everything people are concerned about, especially with regard to the very artistic jobs advertised, would be too obvious to use in a joke. Still apparently it’s just the reality now.
The fact that Microsoft is currently investing billions of dollars in AI only adds the dissonant reaction. Although not formally approved by Microsoft, it still has their Xbox logo on. Then again, even senior leaders can facilitate when discussing and using AI.
Just last week, performing producer at Xbox Game Studios Publishing Matt Turnbull suggested that people recently relaxed to AI Chatbots to help get over their emotional distress and find new jobs. He took the essay, which encouraged former employees to use AI tools to find both jobs and for “emotional clarity”, in the end, but this graphic disaster remains visible to the public as opposed to the code hiding behind the back of the screen.
