TikTok video<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cAre you telling me FAN EXPO can\u2019t put in a stupid little clause because I know there are so many artists who did not get a booth at FAN EXPO, to only be replaced by AI art?! That\u2019s disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The creator then shows examples of artwork she believes to be AI before doubling down on her claim.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not even joking with you, one-quarter of the booths were AI art.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now Toronto has reached out to FAN EXPO Canada for a comment to verify the claims but has not received a response as of publication.<\/p>\n
FAN EXPO Canada has not publicly stated policy on the sale of AI-generated art, leaving it unclear if vendors are allowed to sell it.<\/p>\n
Other TikTok users flooded the comments with similar frustrations about the use of AI at the convention.<\/p>\n
\u201cNote that Fan Expo is a corporate for-profit convention. Ones like Anime North are actually fan cons that are non-profit. Which is also why they allowed that Bell AI picture booth. Care more about the cheque than the actual fans,\u201d a user said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe AI art thing is crazyyyy I was gonna come from Montreal I\u2019m so glad I ended up not going bye,\u201d another user commented.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some social media users were shocked to hear reports of AI art being sold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t care to check people if it\u2019s AI \ud83d\ude29 and they oversell tickets like crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTHEY WERE AI??? Omg??? This is crazy unbelievable,\u201d a user said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And one user even echoed concerns about how it impacts working artists.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is so terrible, I feel so bad for the artists with great talent that never got chosen cause FAN EXPO doesn\u2019t care about artists aside from money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attendees also raised alarms about the sheer volume of people, some saying the overcrowding reached \u201cdangerous levels\u201d that would have made it nearly impossible to exit safely in an emergency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The frustrations at FAN EXPO echo a wider debate about AI use happening in Toronto\u2019s creative community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last December, the Town of York Historical Society issued a public apology after backlash over AI-generated greeting cards being sold at a holiday market.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read More<\/p>\n
The cards, created by Vintage Village owner Dylan Hachey using ChatGPT and Photoshop, were clearly labelled as AI, but organizers later admitted the decision to include them was \u201ca misstep,\u201d pledging to support only human-made art going forward.<\/p>\n