More than a dozen homes and businesses across southeast Cornwall fell victim to coordinated graffiti attacks over the Christmas holiday, with vandals spray-painting ominous warnings about artificial intelligence on buildings in several small communities. The messages, featuring a skull and crossbones design alongside the phrase "AI will replace you!" in black paint, appeared on at least 15 structures in Torpoint, Polbathic, Looe, and Hessenford between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. Local authorities believe the vandalism occurred during late-night hours, and residents woke to find the jarring messages defacing their properties during what should have been a festive celebration.
The Halfway House, a local pub in Polbathic, became an unexpected focal point of the incident when its management responded with humor and technological irony. After discovering the graffiti on their building, the pub's staff used an AI image generator to create a picture of the Grinch climbing a ladder at their entrance, complete with spray paint in hand. They posted the AI-generated image to Facebook with a caption explaining they had asked artificial intelligence for its opinion on the vandalism. The pub later expressed gratitude for their community's support, noting that volunteers spent Christmas Day helping remove the "childish vandalism" and restoring the building's appearance.
Local officials and business owners condemned the acts as mindless destruction that harms small communities dependent on local commerce. Councillor Kate Ewert described the graffiti as "really upsetting" and emphasized that the damage occurred across her entire division, affecting both residential homes and family-owned businesses. She characterized the attacks as a "planned and coordinated effort" with real-life consequences for families trying to operate during the crucial holiday season. Another resident dismissed the AI message as absurd, pointing out that their village is "hardly an AI center," while others simply expressed frustration that someone had "spoilt our village with mindless graffiti again."
The Devon and Cornwall Police have launched a formal investigation into the criminal damage, receiving reports from multiple locations including Polbathic, Seaton, Downderry, Hessenford, Widegates, Crafthole, and Looe. Authorities believe all incidents are connected and occurred during overnight hours when the villages were quiet. Both publicly-owned structures and private properties suffered damage, and detectives are pursuing several lines of inquiry. Police have urged any additional victims who have not yet reported damage to come forward, as they may possess crucial information. Investigators are particularly interested in obtaining CCTV or doorbell camera footage that might have captured suspicious individuals or vehicles in the affected areas during the holiday weekend.
The graffiti reflects broader societal anxiety about artificial intelligence and its potential impact on employment, though residents and officials agree that vandalism is not an appropriate method for expressing such concerns. The timing during Christmas added insult to injury for small business owners already facing economic pressures. Councillor Ewert stressed that whatever one's opinions about AI, defacing property is not the way to make them known, especially when the consequences fall on small businesses that serve as the heart of rural communities. The incident highlights the tension between technological fears and the tangible damage caused by destructive protest methods.
Community members have shown remarkable resilience in the face of these attacks, banding together to clean up the damage and support affected businesses. The Halfway House's witty AI-powered response exemplifies how locals are refusing to let the vandalism define their holiday experience. Police continue to seek information from the public, asking anyone with knowledge of the crimes to contact them via their website or by calling 101, using reference number 50250328700. Meanwhile, the pub extended an invitation to the unknown artist, suggesting that if they want to discuss their opinions about AI, there is no better place than a pub bar where community members would be happy to engage in conversation—though preferably without the spray paint.
