Viral Hits Hard

Last weekend, something strange happened. I hit two viral posts.

The first one was a satirical AI-generated image of my studio, something playful that I thought would make people smile. Instead, it triggered a wave of hate. People seemed genuinely angry, and I started getting bullied and called all sorts of names, simply because it was made with AI.

So, in response, I decided to double down. I created an even more ironic piece, this time poking fun at the AI haters themselves. That's when things really got out of control. The post went viral, reached far beyond my usual audience, and with that came even more hostility, including two death threats.

By stepping outside of my community of incredible artists and creators who always support each other, my post reached new audiences and triggered very different reactions. The AI art community is something I truly love — it's full of people who work hard, share knowledge, and even give away the secrets behind their own art, which I'll admit I don't always do.

But the experience wasn't all negative. Alongside the hate came a wave of new followers, people who actually understood the joke and decided to stick around. That single post broke my four-month plateau at 4,800 and pushed me past 5,000 followers.

I think of this as a kind of growing pain. It's exciting, but it also shows the emotional cost of visibility on platforms where virality can easily slip into hostility. You have to be ready for it.

For me, AI isn't controversial at all. It's straightforward. The technology is here, it's not going away, and it's becoming a new medium that allows countless people to express themselves creatively for the first time.

And I truly hope it keeps growing, because we're just getting started.