Detroit residents had their sense of civic pride dented after a new $400,000 sign welcoming visitors to the Motor City failed to live up to Hollywood-inspired expectations.
The 2.4m-high (8ft) steel signage mounted on concrete slabs was installed this week five miles west of the downtown area on Interstate 94 before thousands of sports fans descend on the city for the annual NFL draft later this month.
Residents have flooded social media with mocking and derogatory comments, while a local rapper released a song with a pointed message for city officials: “This ain’t the sign that we wanted, you can take it back.”
Hopes for a new city centrepiece had been raised after completely unofficial renderings created with artificial intelligence went viral online, depicting impressive white block letters reminiscent of the famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles.
Even Mike Duggan, the mayor of Detroit, admitted at a press conference on Thursday that he had been taken in by the fake AI versions.
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“I saw a post on Instagram of a spectacular Hollywood[-style] sign and I called [Brad Dick, Detroit chief operating officer] and I said, ‘That’s terrific! I had no idea you were thinking that big,’” Duggan said.
The mayor said he immediately knew they had a problem when informed that the renderings were not what was being planned at all. “They’re circulating the fake post under what we got and claiming that the city of Detroit didn’t deliver what we promised,” Duggan said.
He said he still applauded the ambition of city officials in trying to do something a “cut above the boring side”.
The fake signs were created using generative artificial intelligence, which can create realistic-looking images based on text prompts. Deepfake renderings started appearing online as soon as the project was announced in February, creating a sense of buzz around the idea that fell flat this week.
Residents seemed particularly upset that the real sign’s angular design had failed to employ the distinctive old English font that is synonymous with the city and is the emblem of the city’s baseball team, the Detroit Tigers.
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State Republicans didn’t miss the chance to take a swipe at their Democratic counterparts in Lansing, the Michigan state capital. In a post on its official Twitter/X account, Michigan Senate Republicans shared images comparing the AI-generated images with the actual sign.
“What Lansing Democrats promised Michiganders vs. What Lansing Democrats have actually delivered for Michiganders,” the post read.
From the 1920s to the middle of the 20th century, Detroit was an auto manufacturing powerhouse with Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler all headquartered in the city. The population peaked at 1.8 million in 1950, but after decades of decline due to the loss of manufacturing jobs and rising crime it stood at just 639,000 in 2020.
In a post on its official social media account, the City of Detroit said the sign was a testament to its recovery over the past decade. “No, it hasn’t been perfect but it’s been a decade of resilience, tough conversations and togetherness,” it said. “We are growing. This is only the beginning.”
