American Federation of Teachers president thought AI slop would be "fun" to share on Bluesky. Big mistake.

[highplainsdem]

This one was such fun… so I am sharing

— Randi Weingarten 🖇️📚✊🇺🇸 (@rweingarten.bsky.social) 2025-12-25T15:03:54.480Z

She posted that 4 days ago, sliming Christmas morning for a lot of teachers who expected better from anyone in a union.

At the moment the post has nearly 600 replies, almost all of them critical, compared to 123 likes. I suspect a lot of the likes were from people who didn't realize what they were liking was AI, because one whose profile I checked is opposed to generative AI and calls what it generates "slop" - which it is - but might be in the habit of liking every new post from Randi. Randi didn't disclose that it was AI, and while the video has an AI company's watermark, the watermark isn't on the thumbnail that is all you see if you don't click on the video.

The replies from people who knew it was AI included these:

Love that the head of a union that includes many academics (like me!) is endorsing the theft of intellectual property.


Picasso and Warhol are still very much in copyright and these are copying their work pretty exactly… the thing AI companies promised wouldn’t happen 🙄🙄


As an AFT member (Local 2190), please stop with this AI boosterism.
I’d expect posts like this from paid influencers, not the president of hundreds of thousands of us trying to combat the negative effects of these platforms in the classroom.


Sharing something extruded by a technology that steals from creative workers and empowers billionaires is not good look for a unionist and educator.


I could write about the issues with AI itself, but I’m still stunned by the decision to include a tree made of van gogh’s ears. Wtf?


The billionaires who are trying to force this slop down our throats would be just as happy to see it supplant teachers. For shame, Randi.


So...being in a union *doesnt* mean supporting the work and needs of real humans? That's what I'm hearing here?


Please stop. I really don’t want to block a union leader.


Why? Why do this, now, at the peak of intellectual property theft by techbros anxious to cheapen, if not exterminate, some of the very folks you claim to represent?
It's like watching sailors punch holes in their own ship's hull because it's fun to play in the water.

[SheltieLover]

1. Wtaf?

[highplainsdem]

4. My reaction, too.

[SheltieLover]

7. I'll bet!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. Such an embarrassing move from Weingarten.

[yaesu]

3. I would have posted Hey, I would have thought the head of a teachers union would be smarter than a brick nt

[Oneironaut]

5. Why should anyone be mad at this person? Please explain.

I hate AI slop with a passion, but, I don’t think there was malicious intent sharing the image, unless I’m missing something?

[highplainsdem]

6. All genAI slop - and it's all slop - is made with unethical, illegally trained tools that function only because

genAI companies stole all the intellectual property they could steal.

The goal of the genAI companies is to replace as many human workers as possible.

They're fundamentally anti-worker and anti-union.

It's shocking for the president of a teachers union to post AI slop as "fun" - especially since genAI has been particularly damaging to education because of the cheating it enables.

It's also shocking that Randi hasn't had the sense to delete the AI slop and try to apologize.