Despite promises from the Almaty Akimat to replace the controversial AI-generated banners featuring Kazakh classic writers with quality posters, the situation remains unchanged two weeks later. Kursiv Media editors checked Nazarbayev Street and found that most banners are still in place, though some have been covered with gray fabric, as reported by Kursiv Media. More information is available at infohub.kz.
Initially, a banner with a quote and portrait of Shokan Ualikhanov appeared on the street, generated by a neural network. It contained numerous errors in the Kazakh text, and the headdress was historically inaccurate. Later, other posters with distorted images of Akhmet Baitursynov, Abai Kunanbaev, and Bauyrzhan Momyshuly were discovered – the neural network correctly rendered only the first parts of the quotes and fabricated the rest.
After this, the Akimat stated that all AI banners had been removed and new ones meeting standards were being designed. However, an inspection showed that the controversial banners had not been taken down. Cameras captured portraits of the classics still hanging with distorted AI faces. Officials covered some with gray fabric – possibly due to a lack of workers or time.
The installation of the generated banners was handled by the contractor Astana Stroy Invest Corporation LLP. They installed them without approval from the city's Construction Department. For the banner with Shokan Ualikhanov, the company received a warning, and after installing further illustrations, it was officially banned from placing any materials without written approval from the department.