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Title: Business Owners Are Using AI-Generated 'Concerned Residents' To Fight
Proposed Bus Line In Toronto

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/05/22/2334...

A group of Bathurst Street business owners in Toronto is using AI-generated
personas to oppose a proposed bus lane project that would eliminate parking
spaces in favor of faster transit. "This may be the first Toronto transit
controversy involving angry AI, but tensions have been simmering between
drivers and, well, everyone else for some time," reports Toronto Life.
Critics argue that better transit is essential for a livable city, while
opponents claim the change threatens small businesses and accessibility. From
the report: A group of Bathurst business owners are bent out of shape over a
recent proposal for priority transit lanes between Eglinton Avenue and Lake
Shore Boulevard, part of the city's new RapidTO program. According to the
city, the transit lanes would shave up to 7 minutes off some trips during
peak commuting hours. It's good news for anyone who has ever cursed the TTC
while waiting to catch a bus in inclement weather. Of course, the added
convenience for transit commuters would come at a slight cost for drivers,
requiring the removal of at least 138 paid street parking spaces to make way
for the new lanes. Opposition to the development has sprung up under the
banner of Protect Bathurst, a group of hopping mad local business owners
claiming that the lack of street parking will make shopping a nightmare for
car-bound customers and will cause problems for people with mobility issues.
Notably, Protect Bathurst has no spokesperson or contact info listed on its
website. The page is registered to a food marketing consultant employed by
Summerhill Market and looks eerily similar to Protect Dufferin, another group
of "concerned residents" advocating for the same cause. But this cookie-
cutter approach goes even further: author and urbanist Shawn Micallef has
found that the people speaking out in the group's allegedly grassroots videos
appear to be AI-generated. Brad McMullen, the president of Summerhill Market,
which opened an outpost on Bathurst in 2019, says he doesn't know anything
about the campaign's use of AI. He says he isn't necessarily opposed to the
new bus lanes but believes that three weeks' notice from the city is not
enough time for his business to adapt. "We purchased and invested in this
location because of the available street parking, and then we figured out the
loading situation, which happens on the street," he says. "I don't think
Summerhill Market would work here with these bus lanes."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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