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A resident of Almaty's Bostandyk district has publicly accused local authorities of using artificial intelligence (AI) to create fake 'after' photos of trash cleanup, sparking widespread online discussion and criticism.

The resident shared their experience on social media, highlighting a persistent trash problem near School No. 125. After reporting the issue and posting photos to the district administration's social media, they received a response that left them astonished.

AI-Generated 'Cleanup' Photos

According to the resident's post on Threads, the Bostandyk district administration allegedly took their photos of the garbage, used AI to digitally remove the trash, and then presented it as a completed cleanup effort. "The district administration took my photos of the trash, removed the garbage using AI, and shamelessly responded. Ridiculous!" the user wrote.

The post quickly gained traction, nearing 100,000 views within hours and igniting a heated debate among netizens. Many users condemned the administration's actions, with comments like "Modern solutions for modern problems" and "Surely they didn't mean to clean the trash in a picture, not in reality?"

Evidence of AI Manipulation

Online observers pointed out the identical angles, shadows, and lighting in the 'before' and 'after' pictures, strengthening their belief that AI was employed. Some users noted that the social media platform itself flagged the images as potentially edited or generated by AI.

Tengri Life reported on the incident. Attempts to obtain a comment from the Almaty city administration regarding this specific situation were unsuccessful at the time of publication.

This incident raises questions about transparency and accountability in how local authorities address public concerns and manage their public image, especially with the increasing accessibility of AI image generation tools.