Daksh Vijay

AI Slop of Max Dowman Bringing MOTM Trophy to School Go Viral After PL Record

AI in Football, Arsenal, Max Dowman, Premier League

Arsenal’s game against Everton became one for the history books as Max Dowman announced himself to the Emirates.

Arsenal were looking to extend their lead at the top of the table but found themselves unable to break down the Evertonian defense. This prompted Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to bring on 16 year old Max Dowman in the 74th minute.

The teenager had an amazing impact as he helped break the deadlock through an assist for Viktor Gyokeres in the 89th minute via a corner.

He then proceeded to make it 2-0 by scoring in an empty net due to Everton pressing forward in the 7th minute of stoppage time.

Dowman’s goal was record breaking as he became the youngest goalscorer in premier league history at just 16 years and 73 days. He broke the previous record held by Everton’s James Vaughan at 16 years and 270 days. A record that had stood for nearly 20 years.

The goal also made him the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal’s history breaking a record held by Cesc Fabregas at 16 years and 212 days.

Dowman’s goal has ensured that Arsenal are now 9 points clear at the top of the table. It has also been aided by the fact that Manchester City dropped two crucial points against West Ham in a 1-1 draw.

With Dowman’s records, it is important to forget that he is still 16 and studying in Brentwood School in Essex. He is in the 11th grade and is preparing for his GCSE’s coming up in the summer.

Following the Premier League’s strict rules he isnt even alowed to change in the same dressing room as the first team.

He also has a hybrid study schedule as he splits his time between private tutors at Arsenal’s Hale End Academy and his regular school to maintain a regular teenage life.

Daniel Sturridge as well had some fun while talking about how incredible the experience would feel for Dowman when he walks into school the next day

It wasn’t just celebrities but also fans who took to twitter to share their memes and thoughts on how they expect Dowman to recieve a hero’s welcome at his school.

However, apart from this fun banter there were also a few pages that took to Twitter and Instagram to share AI generated images of Dowman bring his MOTM trophy from to show off in front of his schoolmates.

This AI-generated image was shared on Twitter and was received with multiple positive
reactions from people who were unable to differentiate between the real and the
AI-generated. However, there were also multiple reactions that questioned the ethical and
moral side of being able to generate and share AI-generated photos of underage kids.

The second image was shared by an Instagram account, @officialfootballcommunity, and
was similar to the one shared on the Twitter page.

It is no surprise to see AI-generated photos of footballers circulating on the Internet,
especially with the advance of software such as Gemini and ChatGPT that have made
image generation much easier in the modern era.

However, it might be time to consider where the line needs to be drawn in terms of artificial
intelligence and its use in terms of creating images for not just football players but every
person, especially under age people.

Players like Max Dowman, Ethan Nwaneri, and Myles Lewis Skelly are all playing for Arsenal
and are all under 18, an age where they need to be supported and nurtured properly for a
future in football. Football fans knowing that creating AI-generated images is possible is a
dangerous prospect, as it could lead to more disturbing or confusing photos created for
generating reach and misunderstanding in the future.

These photos are not a one-off case, and there have been a plethora of AI-generated
images of footballers on the Internet in all sorts of scenarios. It could be in a different team’s
jersey, celebrating a goal, or it could be something demeaning.

This ambiguity around the possibilities of using AI to generate images makes the practice of
generating them questionable and should be restricted on all social media platforms.
The misunderstanding can still be avoided on platforms like Instagram, where an AI info tag
is still given to photos that share AI-generated images.

However, these images are more dangerous on platforms such as Twitter, where no AI info is provided until community notes steps in. The generation and sharing of these images needs to be brought into question, especially in an age where young stars need to be protected and image rights are a crucial and extremely protected part of a footballer’s life.

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