SAGINAW, Mich. – The CEO of a credit union here who issued an apology after sharing an AI-doctored post showing her and her family wearing “Lake America” sweatshirts said she has faced controversy and even death threats since the story was reported.
As the CU Daily reported here originally, Jane Smith, CEO of the $96.7-million Family First Credit Union attracted attention online after appearing in the photo with members of her family wearing the sweatshirts before boarding a flight for what was described as a trip to Halifax, Canada.
The “Lake America” wording has political implications amid U.S.-Canada tensions. President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada should become part of the United States and has referred to the U.S.-Canada border as an “artificially drawn line.”
Smith later told ABC12 the image did not depict what the family was actually wearing. She said the family had taken a photograph at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and then used ChatGPT to create an altered version showing them in “Lake America” sweatshirts.
Smith has since publicly apologized and the credit union issued a statement saying, “Family First Credit Union unequivocally disapproves and rejects the content of the social media post involving our CEO
In a subsequent interview, Smith told WJRT, “We weren’t trying to make a political statement. However, we were, you know, kind of poking fun at the fact that you know one of the Great Lakes’ names were getting changed.”
A Quick Picture & ChatGPT
Smith said they snapped a quick picture and put it through ChatGPT to see what it would look like if they were wearing Lake America sweatshirts.
The doctored image was originally posted to Smith’s private Facebook page in what she described to the news outlet as a poor-judgment attempt at humor with a marker saying it contained AI content.
But Smith said her sister, Lisa, who was with her on the trip, reposted it publicly without that marker.
“My sister took a screenshot, she made her own comment and she posted it,” she said. “We were in Halifax at the time. We never had actual sweatshirts. We never wore sweatshirts.”
The family returned early on Tuesday because Smith told WJRT she was getting death threats. Reflecting on her actions, Smith said she won’t be using AI again.
‘Can be Dangerous’
“I think the AI can be dangerous in the fact that it can make people think something’s real that’s not,” Smith said. “I understand if I was someone in Halifax and I thought a poor group of people walked in wearing those sweatshirts, it is highly offensive and I would understand why they would be so angry.”
Smith said she wants to make her intentions clear.
“I am not a person that would ever want to offend or hurt anybody,” Smith told WJRT. “I do regret having any post that would make someone feel like we don’t value them as human beings,” Smith said.
One Response
Seriously, this is a thing? The credit union needs to disapprove of a private joke? How is any of this offensive?