Rapper and chef Action Bronson appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience and addressed a wave of online criticism he received after posting an AI-generated image of a frog on Instagram.
Bronson began by explaining how the situation started in the first place.
“The other day I posted a picture of a frog that I AI generated just because I wasn’t able to get the frog to do what the f**k I wanted to do in real life,” he said. “Like, I want the frog holding frog popsicles. He was being difficult. So I had to use another guy.”
According to Bronson, the reaction from his followers was immediate and intense.
“Everyone was blasting me like, ‘Yo, not you. Not you. I can’t believe you used AI,'” he said. “People were flipping out on me.”
Host Joe Rogan then asked who exactly was upset about the post. Bronson made it clear the criticism came directly from his own audience.
“Whoever is on my Instagram,” he said. “My fans and the people who are, you know, just hating on AI. I get the idea of like using it in a conniving way, but it was a picture of a frog.”
One of the main criticisms Bronson faced was the argument that using AI tools takes work away from human artists. He pushed back on that point directly, explaining that he typically creates his own artwork anyway.
“I wouldn’t have hired you no matter what because I do all my artwork anyway,” he said. “There was no job to be taken away. So, if that’s the argument, you could throw that one out. This is just tools.”
Rogan supported that perspective, comparing AI-generated images to existing digital tools. He described it as “Photoshop pretty much,” a comparison Bronson agreed with.
“Look, it’s beautiful,” Rogan said. “It’s very cool looking.”
Despite defending his actions, Bronson acknowledged that the concerns about AI replacing artists began to make more sense after discussing the issue with younger people in his circle.
“I get after it was explained to me by a younger generation of mine,” he said.
Rogan then replied, “I get you should hire artists to make stuff. But do you know how long it takes an artist to make that unless the artist is doing exactly what you’re doing.”
Bronson then reiterated his central point that in his specific case, no job opportunity was lost.
“I do all the artwork on my own,” he said. “Everything comes from me. It wasn’t a job loss no matter what. But I get the idea of it.”
Rogan offered his own explanation for why the backlash was so strong, suggesting that anxiety about automation and job displacement is driving many reactions to AI technology.
“I think it’s just a bunch of people looking for things to complain about,” he said. “And then there’s also a sentiment in the air which is that AI is coming for everybody’s job. So anytime someone uses AI that could have been used by people, there’s a certain percentage of people that are going to kind of rightly be upset because it is, but you’re not going to stop it.”
Bronson agreed with that outlook and used a vivid metaphor to describe the momentum behind artificial intelligence.
“That wave is 2,000 ft high and it’s moving 100 miles an hour and you’re not going to stop it,” he said.
