“They gave their lives. You get 15% off patio furniture.”
— Wing
Memorial Day, 2023.
For some, it’s the quietest morning of the year. Flags at half-mast. Graves visited. Names whispered.
For others, it’s promo code: FREEDOM23.
Originally called Decoration Day, it started after the Civil War—families placing flowers on graves. It wasn’t fireworks and grilling. It was silence. Stillness. A long look at the cost of conflict.
“In the early 2000s, we had watermark wars. In 2022, we had style laundering.”
— Wing
It’s December 2022.
You’re browsing Etsy, Gumroad, or even a local convention artist alley. There’s a print of a fox samurai under cherry blossoms. It’s striking. Detailed. Ethereal.
You buy it.
But hours later, something nags you.
Was that… AI-generated?
And if it was—shouldn’t they have told you?
By late 2022, generative AI art had become too good. Midjourney v4 and Stable Diffusion with custom models were cranking out pieces that mimicked human imperfections: rough brush textures, faux pencil strokes, even “digital signature” scribbles in corners.
“In the ‘90s, we worried about scanners stealing art. In 2022, the art stole itself.”
— Wing
The year was 2022. Stable Diffusion had just exploded onto GitHub. Midjourney was suddenly all over Twitter with ethereal, hyper-detailed portraits. And somewhere on ArtStation, someone posted their latest concept piece—only to be accused of using AI.
The war drums were starting to beat.
Professional and hobbyist artists alike raised alarms. It wasn’t the tech—they’d seen Photoshop evolve for decades. It wasn’t even automation—many used tools like Clip Studio’s perspective rulers or photo references without shame.