love that you are speaking out on this issue. As a current employee of powells who organized the push to center palestine in the Booksellers Best of 2025 list, whose book choice was placed on the “of most concern” list, and who sent frustrated emails about the use of AI to management, I find the blind love for Powell’s that I hear so often really disconcerting. I want people to hold powell’s accountable and show them that portland cares. I also do fear for powell’s closing because it is my livelihood. I’ve worked in bookselling for almost a decade, yet I know if powell’s closed it would be the end of that career, because unlike a lot of my colleagues I have no advanced degrees and the other bookstores in town would be flooded with applications from all the previous powell’s employees, and there simply wouldn’t be enough jobs for even a fraction of us. I hope powells changes and becomes someplace I can feel proud to work in, I hope more indie bookstores open in Portland that would support more booksellers leaving powell’s, and in the meantime I hope powells’ shitty, unethical behavior doesn’t cost a bunch of really good people who work at the lowest tiers their jobs.
Wow, there’s a lot of bad things going on there from AI, censorship of books, and just overall horrible treatment of staff. I hope people in Portland are planning a ban on the store? I have never ordered a book from them, and definitely won’t be ordering anything in the future. I hope they improve their ways, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon. Boycotts can definitely change things.
Moved to Portland in 2018 and was so excited to get a marketing job at Powell’s. Left after 7 months when I learned first hand how the Powell family dgaf about their employees. Such a bummer that the customer experience so vastly differs from the employees’.
It is such a bizarre choice to do this…the “art” is incredibly unattractive anyway and there are so many amazing human bookish artists! What possible justification? I am sure they paid whoever did the slop just as much as a human artist.
I have a couple different thoughts about that, actually! It could be corporate politicking because they have an unannounced new CEO that's basically an AI slop startup techbro. "See daddy, I did the AI you like!"
They could also just be testing the waters to see if they can get away with cutting their design team to one """"""""AI artist"""""""".
I visited Portland last week and went there. The merch in this article was weak compared to some of the other actually illustrated items. It looked off now I know why.
I guess they have every right to use AI work but I don’t have to buy that design.
If it's "too big to fail" then it probably should. Have not shopped online at Powell's for years after them being my anti Amazon go to after labor concerns were raised. Sad that this edifice of wonder I loved to visit when in town just continues to become Amazon lite.
I dunno, it's a bookstore, they sell books so, if they save some money making shirts from AI generated art so they can stay in business longer selling books, I don't think they should be shamed that much, its a business after all, maybe a bit of grace is in order. If they were selling AI generated books then thats prob not a good thing.
Maybe but I'm not sure tearing down an independent bookstores reputation is the answer to that, I doubt anyone would like the chain store that will come in after they go out of business. Just don't buy the shirt.
I have zero desire to tear down any bookstore, be it Barnes & Noble or Powell’s. I just think AI is being foisted upon us by billionaire twats and it’s a disgrace, as are the people forcing this dreck on us daily.
This is really disappointing behavior from an indie bookstore. Management needs to listen to its employees, who are the lifeblood of the Powell's experience.
I dont wear any clothing that advertises a company.You wanna pay$$$ me for.advertising your company? Sure fine . But otherwise Im not your walking billboard.
To be fair while a lot of the mainstream AI art isn't always that good and AI is stealing people's jobs, people still can use AI to make amazing artwork. It allows a DIYer to become their own production studio without hiring teams of people. AI generated content is a powerful tool that George Lucas would of probably loved to have in the late 70s. To dismiss, downplay, or minimize the technology or the medium presented by AI is to be ignorant of what it can do. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and one man's trash is another man's treasure.
Zionists should not feel comfortable, and Powell's should be ashamed if they're deliberately making them feel comfortable. Here, let me share another story from a former Powell's employee:
This bookseller wrote 'From the river to the sea' on a shelf talker, and was told by the Powell's floor manager that it was antisemitic. That same day, there were allegedly 5 copies of Protocols of the Elders of Zion on the pickup holds shelf. Apparently, Powell's did not want to risk sending the message that their booksellers were antisemitic because of their support for Palestinian liberation - but they're more than happy to profit off of *THE* zionism manifesto.
love that you are speaking out on this issue. As a current employee of powells who organized the push to center palestine in the Booksellers Best of 2025 list, whose book choice was placed on the “of most concern” list, and who sent frustrated emails about the use of AI to management, I find the blind love for Powell’s that I hear so often really disconcerting. I want people to hold powell’s accountable and show them that portland cares. I also do fear for powell’s closing because it is my livelihood. I’ve worked in bookselling for almost a decade, yet I know if powell’s closed it would be the end of that career, because unlike a lot of my colleagues I have no advanced degrees and the other bookstores in town would be flooded with applications from all the previous powell’s employees, and there simply wouldn’t be enough jobs for even a fraction of us. I hope powells changes and becomes someplace I can feel proud to work in, I hope more indie bookstores open in Portland that would support more booksellers leaving powell’s, and in the meantime I hope powells’ shitty, unethical behavior doesn’t cost a bunch of really good people who work at the lowest tiers their jobs.
Is Powell's becoming the Walmart of bookstores? This is horrible!
Wow, there’s a lot of bad things going on there from AI, censorship of books, and just overall horrible treatment of staff. I hope people in Portland are planning a ban on the store? I have never ordered a book from them, and definitely won’t be ordering anything in the future. I hope they improve their ways, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon. Boycotts can definitely change things.
Not the most important thing but these designs are hideous, on top of everything else…
Moved to Portland in 2018 and was so excited to get a marketing job at Powell’s. Left after 7 months when I learned first hand how the Powell family dgaf about their employees. Such a bummer that the customer experience so vastly differs from the employees’.
It is such a bizarre choice to do this…the “art” is incredibly unattractive anyway and there are so many amazing human bookish artists! What possible justification? I am sure they paid whoever did the slop just as much as a human artist.
I have a couple different thoughts about that, actually! It could be corporate politicking because they have an unannounced new CEO that's basically an AI slop startup techbro. "See daddy, I did the AI you like!"
They could also just be testing the waters to see if they can get away with cutting their design team to one """"""""AI artist"""""""".
Bleecccchhhh to either possibility
I visited Portland last week and went there. The merch in this article was weak compared to some of the other actually illustrated items. It looked off now I know why.
I guess they have every right to use AI work but I don’t have to buy that design.
If it's "too big to fail" then it probably should. Have not shopped online at Powell's for years after them being my anti Amazon go to after labor concerns were raised. Sad that this edifice of wonder I loved to visit when in town just continues to become Amazon lite.
This makes me sad to read. I'm not surprised but still disappointed.
I was just thinking of visiting the downtown location since it's been a number of years, but reading this sure makes me think twice!
I dunno, it's a bookstore, they sell books so, if they save some money making shirts from AI generated art so they can stay in business longer selling books, I don't think they should be shamed that much, its a business after all, maybe a bit of grace is in order. If they were selling AI generated books then thats prob not a good thing.
The problem is that AI art is an affront to humanity.
Maybe but I'm not sure tearing down an independent bookstores reputation is the answer to that, I doubt anyone would like the chain store that will come in after they go out of business. Just don't buy the shirt.
I have zero desire to tear down any bookstore, be it Barnes & Noble or Powell’s. I just think AI is being foisted upon us by billionaire twats and it’s a disgrace, as are the people forcing this dreck on us daily.
This is really disappointing behavior from an indie bookstore. Management needs to listen to its employees, who are the lifeblood of the Powell's experience.
I dont wear any clothing that advertises a company.You wanna pay$$$ me for.advertising your company? Sure fine . But otherwise Im not your walking billboard.
To be fair while a lot of the mainstream AI art isn't always that good and AI is stealing people's jobs, people still can use AI to make amazing artwork. It allows a DIYer to become their own production studio without hiring teams of people. AI generated content is a powerful tool that George Lucas would of probably loved to have in the late 70s. To dismiss, downplay, or minimize the technology or the medium presented by AI is to be ignorant of what it can do. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and one man's trash is another man's treasure.
“In 2016, Hayao Miyazaki called AI generation an "insult to life itself." “
Welcome to the Progression of the New Normal
The time for reasonable people to draw the line has passed
Everything turns to shit cuz greedy scum are calling the shots. F that.
Zionists should not feel comfortable, and Powell's should be ashamed if they're deliberately making them feel comfortable. Here, let me share another story from a former Powell's employee:
This bookseller wrote 'From the river to the sea' on a shelf talker, and was told by the Powell's floor manager that it was antisemitic. That same day, there were allegedly 5 copies of Protocols of the Elders of Zion on the pickup holds shelf. Apparently, Powell's did not want to risk sending the message that their booksellers were antisemitic because of their support for Palestinian liberation - but they're more than happy to profit off of *THE* zionism manifesto.