Brilliant billboard ad pokes fun at AI...

AI is the topic of the moment, and sharp advertising companies are making use of it in more ways than one. Sure, you could try to use AI to make your ad, but it can be more effective to poke fun at the new technology.

This advert on a street in Belgium could earn it a spot in our pick of the best billboard advertising with its clever timely message, which highlights the importance of skilled workers. It's triggered an intense debate, though. And some of the responses are as funny as the ad itself.

We've already seen KitKat make fun of AI in a hilarious series of ads that aimed to show what might happen if it dropped its creative team in favour of AI-generated content. Now the Belgian employment agency Impact has made, well, an impact, with a witty challenge to the AI chatbot ChatGPT

The message on the side of a construction site in Antwerp reads: “Hey ChatGPT, finish this building…" Below that it reads: "Your skills are irreplaceable", suggesting that at least certain jobs are safe amid the rise of generative AI.

Writing on LinkedIn, Impact said: “AI can do a lot. But AI can’t finish this building on the Keyserlei in Antwerp. AI can't fix a leak or install a heating system neither. Crafts(wo)men are here to stay, and they deserve to be recognized. Their skills are simply irreplaceable.”

Many people have praised the message as making a bold statement and reminding us that with even the most advanced tech, skilled human craftspeople are needed to create things. "Smart, ingenious and human," one person replied on LinkedIn. 

But some aren't quite so sure that Impact should write off AI's construction prowess. Over on YouTube Mateusz Lomber set about using Photoshop's new Firefly-driven Generative Fill to finish the building, while others suggest that if it isn't AI that comes for construction jobs, it might be Boston Dynamics or Tesla's terrifying robots.

Curious about using AI for your own creative work? See our pick of the best AI art generators and the best AI art tutorials.