08/20/2026
Ethical use of AI by small business owners… what do you think?
I just saw a post about a small business owner who had JUST opened and made a promotional flier with AI, and people went ballistic on her in the comments.
“I’ll never spend money with a business that uses AI slop”
“It’s so unethical, just use Canva”
“You should have hired a human being for that”
As a creative professional, I want to share my unique take *especially* as it relates to AI replacing creative tasks (photo, video, design, etc.). I know some people will vehemently disagree with me, and that’s 100% okay.
I’m specifically thinking about the little guys.
The family that owns a coffee shop and works 10 hours shifts behind the counter to barely turn a profit.
The beauty salon renting a space where 5 other businesses have failed in recent years.
The contractor whose cash flow fluctuates so much that they are 2 months late on their mortgage.
Does AI replace human creativity? Yes, and I don’t like that.
Is it unethical? In a lot of situations, I’d say unequivocally yes.
Should we also show some grace to the small business owners barely getting by, struggling with rising costs, skipping their own paychecks to make sure their employees get paid, working 70 or 80 hours a week to try to pay rent?
100% yes.
I’m a photographer, but I would never want a struggling small business to fail because they can’t afford to pay me to take photos for their flier or website.
Does that mean one less job for me if they use a few AI generated images? Sure, but at least their children are being fed.
Let’s focus the AI-hate on the mega corporations that are doing hiring freezes and laying off hundreds of employees under the guise of “increased efficiency,” instead of worrying about the mom & pop shops that are looking for any way to make it in a tough economy.
Do you agree or disagree?
