[gegtik]

I do think that AI signage/advertising is the new signifier of low-effort, low-skill output and that is how it will be perceived by clientele.

Similar to someone just scrawling a sandwich board sign in chalk (which at this point I would prefer).

Businesses will stand out from a taste perspective by continuing to hire human effort to make recognisable human output.

[dec0dedab0de]

Writing in signs and menus in chalk has been a signal for a high quality restaurant for as long as I can remember. With photos of the food, and/or ring bound menus being the worst.

[PyWoody]

I knew someone that actually got a degree in like letterprinting with a minor in menu design. She went from town-to-town creating these beautiful chalk menu designs and lived a pretty modest life.

One day a tattoo parlor asked her to make a sign. She did. They asked if she had ever thought about getting into tattooing. She hadn't. They gave her an apprenticeship.

After completing her apprenticeship, she's now booked so far into advance that she closed her book to the public.

I think about her all the time now, what with software engineering going the way that it is. What lateral like passion could I transition to, as she did?

[bombcar]

Don’t let your memes be dreams! This time next month you could be tattooing buffer overflows on someone’s ass.

[inigyou]

First, an ass buffer is called a rectum. Second, I'd really prefer it didn't overflow.

[monk_grilla]

> ... with software engineering going the way that it is. What lateral like passion could I transition to, as she did?

A question I ask myself increasingly frequently. Do let us know if you find any answer.

[Breza]

One of my friends from grad school got a Masters of Public Policy then decided she would rather chalk menuboards for a living, spun up an LLC, and does amazing work. I admire people who are so willing to chase their dreams. I joke with my five year old that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, except it's increasingly not a joke.

[HDBaseT]

How long until we see AI tattoo artists? I assume someone by now has tattoo'd AI slop onto their body (I've seen Tung Tung Sahur on a persons leg).

[square_usual]

Photos of the food, at least in the US, started with "immigrant" restaurants. When Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese restaurants started opening up in areas without high concentrations of those people, they'd put photos in the menu so you could see what you were getting since that wouldn't be clear from the names or descriptions in the menu. A lot of these restaurants were cheap, which is why I think you associate it with low-quality restaurants.

[alamortsubite]

U.S. chains like IHOP and Denny's beat the mom-and-pop immigrant restaurants by decades (and they are truly terrible). I wouldn't be surprised if they got the idea from even lower quality chains like McDonald's, but I'm not old enough to know.

[amelius]

Chalk writing robot/printer in the making ...

[taude]

The Tour De France had one a long time ago, writing chalk signage on the roads [1]. I had to search for the YouTube video about it....

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khffa2GkvPE

[gegtik]

I did say "scrawl",

[quietbritishjim]

Indeed. It seems the parent comment has accidentally made exactly the opposite point than they intended.

The difference between scrawl on a chalk board and a glossy menu with photos is not really the visual effect, it's the amount of effort and the virtue signalling - "my food is so amazing I don't need to make more effort than this".

But that applies to AI menus too. "Why are these horrible AI slop photos on your menu?" "Because I'm too focused on food to hand create a perfect American Psycho minimalist menu"

[cautiouscat]

> Similar to someone just scrawling a sandwich board sign in chalk

As opposed to what? This is usually a sign of quality. If it’s in chalk it’s because it changes as the restaurant experiments and tries new things.

[Marsymars]

Yeah, there’s a great bar I sometimes go to where the taplist is a chalkboard because of their ~20 taps they’re typically changing at least one per day to a new keg.

[Jtarii]

Escaping AI slop will become a privilege for the wealthy.