Text on a product image of “Hondashi” posted to Ajinomoto’s official X account came out garbled, apparently the result of AI processing, prompting the company to apologize. On 5ch, some pointed out that “if it’s your own product, just take a normal photo,” while others said “the real problem isn’t the AI use itself, it’s the lack of love [for the product]” — though plenty of cooler reactions also asked whether all this fuss was really necessary over a mere image.
Published 8/22 (Sat) 8:10
ITmedia Business Online
An image posted to Ajinomoto’s official X account showed the product’s label and text warped and distorted, leading the company to issue an apology. At a time when AI use in corporate PR can itself become a liability, how much image processing should companies really be willing to hand over to AI?
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
Rare for one of these 'kotatsu' hack pieces (lazy articles written from the comfort of one's heated table) to actually get agreement here
Love matters, man
Love matters, man
>>32
Makes me wonder why nobody's brought up Ryuji from Bazu Recipe (a popular Japanese home-cooking YouTuber) over this.
Makes me wonder why nobody's brought up Ryuji from Bazu Recipe (a popular Japanese home-cooking YouTuber) over this.
Come on, you'd think they'd at least notice garbled text
Yeah, there really is no respect here — not for their own product, and not for the customers who buy it
A company this trashy deserves to go under
Yeah, there really is no respect here — not for their own product, and not for the customers who buy it
A company this trashy deserves to go under
>>34
I bet they thought it was just a normal photo touch-up and didn't check closely
There's even a chance they didn't know AI editing was involved at all
I bet they thought it was just a normal photo touch-up and didn't check closely
There's even a chance they didn't know AI editing was involved at all
Does everyone actually know how to make good use of Hondashi?
>>35
What do you use when you need dashi (Japanese soup stock)?
What do you use when you need dashi (Japanese soup stock)?
Not just this case — I don't get why you'd bother having AI draw an image of your own product when you could just take a photo
>>36
They didn't have it 'drawn'
They didn't have it 'drawn'
>>36
You say 'just photograph your own product' like it's nothing, but shooting it nicely is actually a real hassle
Get AI to do it and it's done in no time
You say 'just photograph your own product' like it's nothing, but shooting it nicely is actually a real hassle
Get AI to do it and it's done in no time
Not that long ago it was 'Whoa, you're using AI? Amazing!'
Now it's 'Ugh, AI again?'
Times are changing fast
The right way to use AI is to let it handle the tedious work humans don't want to do.
The creative parts still carry more value and appreciation when a human comes up with them
Now it's 'Ugh, AI again?'
Times are changing fast
The right way to use AI is to let it handle the tedious work humans don't want to do.
The creative parts still carry more value and appreciation when a human comes up with them
>>43
Well, it'll probably get better eventually so logos and text render properly.
Well, it'll probably get better eventually so logos and text render properly.
>>43
There's a certain breed of people who think 'if you used AI, it's creative.'
(Should probably be classified as an endangered species soon)
There's a certain breed of people who think 'if you used AI, it's creative.'
(Should probably be classified as an endangered species soon)
>>43
That's just the same anti-AI crowd that's been around since back then, kicking up their usual fuss
That's just the same anti-AI crowd that's been around since back then, kicking up their usual fuss
People who go all-out complaining about trivial stuff are genuinely unwell, just ignore them
>>59
Yeah, that's probably it
Bashing something lets you forget about your own problems for a while
Yeah, that's probably it
Bashing something lets you forget about your own problems for a while
Making this big a deal out of it is honestly pretty pathetic
>>73
Dealing with idiots is rough
Well, X is a nest of idiots anyway, so can't be helped
Dealing with idiots is rough
Well, X is a nest of idiots anyway, so can't be helped
>>73
They never should have apologized
It's like handing water to a fish — it just feeds the frenzy
They never should have apologized
It's like handing water to a fish — it just feeds the frenzy
AI's fine in itself, but they're catching heat for putting out an image where their own product's text is left all warped and wonky
It's the official account, so you'd think they'd just take an actual photo
Then again, looking at >>73 — if all they needed was to slap text onto the same base image, they could've done that in Windows Paint instead of bothering with AI
There was also a theory going around that the iPhone auto-applied AI correction, but it wouldn't come out looking like that, would it?
It's the official account, so you'd think they'd just take an actual photo
Then again, looking at >>73 — if all they needed was to slap text onto the same base image, they could've done that in Windows Paint instead of bothering with AI
There was also a theory going around that the iPhone auto-applied AI correction, but it wouldn't come out looking like that, would it?
The container has a curved, hourglass-like shape, so of course the text looks distorted when shot straight-on, no?
>>89
Zoom in and look at >>73
Zoom in and look at >>73
AI upscaling tools don't work well on images that have text in them
>>95
Depends on the model you use
Depends on the model you use
There are people who, for some reason, hate chemical seasoning/MSG like it killed their parents
Well, Ajinomoto these days is raking in huge profits as a semiconductor-materials company, so a complaint or two like this is probably barely a blip to them
Well, Ajinomoto these days is raking in huge profits as a semiconductor-materials company, so a complaint or two like this is probably barely a blip to them
>>98
Ajinomoto's MSG itself is really just a processed sugarcane product anyway
Ajinomoto's MSG itself is really just a processed sugarcane product anyway
Hondashi, Ajinomoto MSG, mirin —
never used any of them once in my life
*not counting home ec class
Ajinomoto especially — the world would be just fine without it
never used any of them once in my life
*not counting home ec class
Ajinomoto especially — the world would be just fine without it
>>142
That's the kind of thing you should just write on your own blog
That's the kind of thing you should just write on your own blog
>>142
Don't need that stuff
It's just money down the drain
Don't need that stuff
It's just money down the drain
https://www.itmedia.co.jp/business/articles/2608/21/news045.html
If you click or double-click the photo in this article
you can see the text flanking the 'Hondashi' lettering really is illegible
It's vague, AI-garbled text, but if the AI ever misreads it and ends up generating some other message on its own —
something it really shouldn't be writing — there'd be no taking it back.
Humans have five fingers, but in the AI world you sometimes get six-fingered hands, so using it is fine, just make sure to actually check the output
Big accidents like the Tobu one, caused by a manager's oversight, happen along similar lines
If you click or double-click the photo in this article
you can see the text flanking the 'Hondashi' lettering really is illegible
It's vague, AI-garbled text, but if the AI ever misreads it and ends up generating some other message on its own —
something it really shouldn't be writing — there'd be no taking it back.
Humans have five fingers, but in the AI world you sometimes get six-fingered hands, so using it is fine, just make sure to actually check the output
Big accidents like the Tobu one, caused by a manager's oversight, happen along similar lines
>>156
Are you an idiot
If you demand ad QC meet human-error safeguards on par with public transportation,
Hondashi would end up costing over 5,000 yen
Do you have any idea how much that would cost
Are you an idiot
If you demand ad QC meet human-error safeguards on par with public transportation,
Hondashi would end up costing over 5,000 yen
Do you have any idea how much that would cost
Wouldn't just snapping a photo of your own product take less time and effort than using AI?
I really don't get it
I really don't get it
>>159
They're probably one of those crappy companies pushing AI adoption
The whole 'look how much cheaper this is than booking a photo studio' angle
They're probably one of those crappy companies pushing AI adoption
The whole 'look how much cheaper this is than booking a photo studio' angle
>>159
They did snap a photo of their own product and use that
There's no way some other company's AI could just generate an Ajinomoto product out of nowhere
They did snap a photo of their own product and use that
There's no way some other company's AI could just generate an Ajinomoto product out of nowhere
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Ajinomoto] The Real Issue Behind the ‘Hondashi’ Backlash: Consumers Weren’t Angry About ‘AI Use’ — They Were Angry About the Lack of Love for Their Own Product.”
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