'Limerick version of The Polar Express': Council's use of AI to promote Christmas events criticised

The Limerick Festivals and Events team shared the video on social media and closed off the comments section after receiving backlash from the public

To show off what Limerick 'could be like' this Christmas, the council shared a promotional video using computer-generated images.

Limerick City and County Council has been criticised for using an AI-generated video to promote Christmas events in the city.

The computer-generated promotional video, which was intended to show what Limerick "could be like" during the festive season, prompted criticism from both elected members and members of the public. 

Comments on the social media post were later disabled following a negative reaction.

Social Democrats councillor Elisa O'Donovan said councillors across the metropolitan area had been contacted about the video, which she described as misleading.

“It was so problematic that this was put up, and for so many reasons," said Ms O'Donovan, adding: "We don’t need AI to showcase our city."

Ms O'Donovan said councillors had repeatedly heard concerns about how it is "very difficult" for creatives at the moment, who are "being replaced by AI".

She added that the council’s response to turn off the comments on social media was not a “legitimate response” to something people “were clearly upset about”.

Fine Gael councillor Sarah Kiely likened the video to a "Limerick version of The Polar Express", while her party colleague, Dan McSweeney, also questioned the decision to turn off comments.

In a note to councillors, the council's Festivals and Events team said the video had been produced by architectural rendering company Render Vision using a combination of computer-generated imagery and AI tools.

Officials said two 3D artists were assigned to the project for four weeks and it was based on technical drawings and descriptions of production elements, infrastructure, and lighting designs. 

As Christmas in Limerick is a "brand-new festival concept", they explained that creating a high-fidelity visual experience represented a complex technical challenge. 

They said the video provides an “accurate, compelling, and realistic representation of the live event experience to support ongoing promotional and administrative planning”.

Senior executive officer Sonja Reidy said issues raised by councillors would now be considered by the council's AI Oversight Committee as part of work on an organisational AI policy.

It will “consider how a human-centric approach to image rendering in the context of available technologies, like that described above, can be included in an AI policy for the organisation”.