WITH 33rd SEA Games taking place during Dec. 9-20 a controversy has erupted even before the opening ceremony after an AI-generated promotional poster for a virtual run shared on Facebook attracted widespread criticism from netizens for being rife with flaws including image composition and seams, Naewna newspaper and Sanook.com said this morning (Dec. 4).
The poster invites people across Asean to participate in the 33rd SEA Games through the “33rd SEA Games Virtual Run,” which allows runners to run anywhere, anytime, and choose their own route from now until December 31, 2025. Participants will receive a commemorative medal for joining the SEA Games celebration project hosted by Thailand.
Many people questioned why the poster for the international multi-sport event was created using AI instead of hiring a graphic design team to do so.
Amid criticism of its “sloppy” and “careless execution”, despite this being an international event, some netizens have even questioned: How prepared is Thailand to host the 2025 SEA Games? Controversies surrounding the organisation of the event have been steadily rising, and there has been no further clarification from the organisers or relevant agencies, they pointed out.
Among the comments the poster attracted are, “Using free AI? Are you really ready to hold the event 5555,” “Kindergarten version of Photoshop,” “I praise and like the concept for this year’s SEA Games a lot. ‘Running away from the temple’ reflects the current viewpoint very well,” and “Genius 5555.”
CAPTION:
The AI-generated “33rd SEA Games Virtual Run” poster shared on SEA GAMES Thailand 2025 Facebook page.
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