Tim Cook’s Christmas card: hand‑drawn or AI — and why I care

I’ll be blunt: a CEO’s holiday post is tiny PR, but optics matter. If Tim Cook posted a so‑called “hand‑drawn” greeting that looks generated, the real problem isn’t the art — it’s the lack of disclosure. Leaders who blur the line between human creativity and AI risk eroding the basic trust that brands and executives should protect.

There are practical concerns here beyond bad vibes. AI images can hide provenance issues, raise copyright questions, and muddy responsibility. If a public figure uses AI and presents it as handmade, that invites skepticism about honesty and about whether labor — creative or otherwise — is being acknowledged.

For anyone who cares about tech ethics, the checklist is simple: disclose when AI is involved, explain if a human edited the result, and be transparent about sourcing. That would have been the graceful move here: a line like “generated with assistance from AI” would have sufficed and saved everyone the side‑eye.

• Why it matters: authenticity from leaders builds trust; opaque AI usage damages it.
• Practical risks: copyright/provenance issues, misattribution of creative labor, and potential backfire in public perception.
• What I want to see: clear disclosure, simple provenance notes, and accountability when AI is used for public communications.

Original coverage: ifun.de — Tim Cook’s Christmas greeting controversy.

My Verdict: I don’t care if the art was created by a human, an algorithm, or both — I care that the person posting it tells the truth. If you’re going to normalize AI in public life, start with basic transparency. Do you think executives should always disclose AI assistance in personal posts?