Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP) CEO Jeremy Waldrup said that the design of the nonprofit’s Picklesburgh 10th anniversary T-shirt was created by a “mix of both traditional and AI tools” in a statement to Pittsburgh City Paper.
The shirt first came under scrutiny last week after TikTok user travistokofficial speculated that its illustration was created by generative AI. He pointed out that the image’s art style and inconsistent fine details were key signs of an AI-generated image.
Waldrup said the shirt was a late addition to the Picklesburgh lineup, and was intended to be a “fun tribute.” He added that the shirt was not a replacement for local talent.
“In hindsight, we recognize that a more thoughtful approach would have better reflected our values for this item,” Waldrup said, adding that the nonprofit will continue to use both regular and AI tools, but that it “remain[s] committed to ensuring that our decisions reflect our values, especially when it comes to merchandise.”
The roughly $10,000 profit from the shirt will go toward supporting a future public art downtown installation led by a local artist, according to Waldrup. Many existing installations in Downtown made by local artists were curated and funded in part by the PDP.
But the shirt might not be the only AI-generated marketing item: a pickle riding illustration also shows signs of being created by AI Letters in the title appear to be stuck together, and a cowboy-like figure riding a pickle has an inconsistent number of fingers.
Waldrup did not confirm any use of generative AI in the creation of the pickle rider or other PDP marketing materials.
Matt Buchholz of Alternate Histories, a Pittsburgh-based print shop, first pointed out the pickle rider in an Instagram post. In the post, Buchholz calls out the PDP for outsourcing work to AI that could have been done better by local Pittsburgh artists.
Buchholz said he ran both the T-shirt illustration and the pickle rider through three AI-image detectors, and that all of them flagged the images as likely being procedurally generated. He also pointed out to CP that the shirt was not printed locally, either.
Buchholz said it is inconsistent for the PDP, who says it aims to celebrate small businesses in Pittsburgh, to use AI-generated art.
“You’re not celebrating small business success if you are having a computer create that artwork for you,” Buchholz told CP.
And while Buchholz acknowledged wide use-cases for AI, he emphasized that the technology is taking work and money from human artists.
“Pittsburgh is bursting with artists and talent who could do a great job [with] this and turn it around in a reasonable design, and would be great partners to work with,” Buchholz said. “That’s why it’s such a shame to see that not happen.”
Despite Buchholz and others’ consternation, Waldrup said the goal of artistic elevation at the PDP remains the same.
“We have long-standing relationships with Pittsburgh’s artist community and are proud of the many ways we’ve collaborated to elevate local talent over the years,” Waldrup said.
Gavin Petrone is a student at Point Park University and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns.
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2025.
