Pexels/Reddit

Employers are famously not great at knowing what their employees really want. Almost always, employees would prefer a little extra cash in their paycheck, not a poorly planned pizza party or an extra day of casual dress code.

But in the age of AI, some managers are getting even more delusional about what it takes to raise morale, like in this story.

One employee works in a tech-forward role by day but keeps a firm anti-AI stance in her personal life, careful to keep the two worlds separate.

That balance got complicated when her AI-happy boss started sending out AI-generated flyers featuring everyone’s faces as “key players” during a major systems transition.

Coworkers loved the gesture, but she didn’t.

You’ll want to keep reading for this one.

AITA for asking my AI loving manager to stop posting me?

I (25F) work in utilities and information systems.

My job is pretty tech-savvy and following the push towards more AI implementation for business purposes.

This employee tried to remain open-minded at work, but remains staunchly against the technology in her personal life.

In my personal life as a longtime creative, I am big on anti-AI, even while I understand the need for it at work.

I try to keep those parts of my life separate, and usually I can keep any AI usage strictly work related.

People around her at work don’t see things the same way.

The thing about my job is I work with and under many older people who love to use AI in their daily lives outside of work.

Here’s where I may be the AH: We are currently in a huge transition between systems, and my manager (52F) has started sending out inspirational email flyers as we edge closer to our deadline.

Her manager loves using AI, even plugging in her employee’s personal likeness.

These flyers are made with AI and portray inspirational messages, as well as all of our faces as “key players.”

My coworkers are totally fine with this and even find it fun and morale-boosting, but it freaks me out to have my face being put into AI every week to generate a flyer.

I don’t want to be the one to spoil the fun, because she doesn’t mean any harm.

Soon, the employee worries her boss may soon take things too far.

But she took the photo off of my Facebook where we are friends, and now I’m nervous she might put different photos into AI chatbots that have my friends, family, nephews, etc.

WIBTA if I asked her to stop?

Bosses should be able to use better judgment than this.

What did Reddit have to say?

This commenter flags a wider issue at play.

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It may be worth double-checking the employee handbook.

These things really require permission first.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a client who regretted paying for a cross-country flight after the IT specialist just flipped a breaker.

AI aside, this is strange.

The real issue isn’t the flyers themselves; it’s consent. A photo pulled from social media without ever asking crosses a line that has nothing to do with morale and everything to do with control over her own image.

Worrying about where else that photo, or future ones, might end up somewhere else is a pretty reasonable concern considering how few safeguards are actually out there to protect everyday people.

Her boss should really know better.

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Author

Benjamin Cottrell

Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.