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Generative AI has been the rage of late, stunning people with content creation. Chat GPT stunned folks when it was released and suddenly started churning out everything from recipes to essays to blog articles (its still human me writing here).

I read an article about AI generating images of people from different states. The program used to generate the images was Midjourney. I have my own Midjourney account and thought it would be interesting to take that same idea and put a spin on it have AI generate photos of preppers in all 50 states.

The results were very telling about AIs assessment of preppers. Apparently, AI thinks we are all white, bearded men who appear to live in poverty and hoard trash. Some of the results are downright entertaining. See the results for yourself below and tell me Im wrong. Alabama

Did this prepper just experience a natural disaster or does his home always look like that? Alaska

Be careful of that fire, bro. Your shack is about to catch on fire! Arizona

Aaaah, sitting down with your bug out bag and staring off into the land of no water and no food. Arkansas

Bud, watch that fire or your shack will burn down. California

Prepper or homeless? AI seems to blur the lines. Colorado

Finally, a prepper who seems to be well-situated. Connecticut

He has food! Delaware

Prepper life = shack life. Florida

Thats a lot to carry on ones back. Georgia

This guy doesnt know fire safety either. His canvas tent home is about to burn down. Hawaii

Fresh fruit and an ocean/mountain view. I might become a Hawaii prepper! Idaho

Im not quite sure whats going on here, but the truck is split in half and theres a fire on one half. Illinois

Illinois preppers represent with gas masks and hazmat suits. Well done! Indiana

This prepper is concerned about his identity so he didnt show up. Iowa

I think this Iowa prepper is now an aspiring prepper after suffering loss. Kansas

What is up with this guys odd rifle behind him!? AI flubbed this one up. Kentucky

More in-the-woods shack life happening in Kentucky. Louisiana

This guy looks ready to disappear into the bayou with wet boots. Maine

I live in Maine, and well, Ive seen this kind of home more than once. Maryland

I hope this is a rundown shed and not his actual home. Massachusetts

This bro looks like hes posing for a picture on Doomsday Preppers. Michigan

Another odd firearm depiction here. Minnesota

This must be a low-cost bug out retreat. Mississippi

More trash hoarding in Mississippi. Missouri

Not sure why he has so much crap on the walls of his tent, but he looks like a friendly guy. Montana

Apparently in Montana you just have to be a cowboy to be a prepper. Nebraska

This bro is ready. Nevada

I love this guys hair! New Hampshire

Finally, a normal looking guy. New Jersey

New Jersey preppers are at least patriotic, even if they just hoard trash in the woods. New Mexico

Nice firearms safety, AI. New York

Looks like a homeless encampment. I guess they got that part of New York right. North Carolina

All smiles form this David Koresh looking guy. Is this the beginning of his post-apocalyptic cult? North Dakota

Im not sure what I like more, the spikes coming out of his tent or the low-rider car parked next to it. Ohio

Plenty of gear here. Oklahoma

He may have made this house entirely from pallets. Oregon

Face = hidden! Pennsylvania

Wall of gear. Rhode Island

Interesting, a fisheye lens take. South Carolina

Odd looking rifle here, but its otherwise consistent with every other image bearded white guy. South Dakota

He just came back from Sturgis. Tennessee

I guess building a fire on your table is an option. Texas

At least Texas preppers will be able to keep the music alive after the apocalypse. Utah

High altitude prepper! Vermont

I think Ive actually seen this guy hiking the Green Mountains. Virginia

Is he on his way to the dump with that trash? Washington

Another secretive prepper who wont show his face. At least the view is pretty. West Virginia

Is that the entrance to a coal mine? Wisconsin

I bet this guy dresses as Santa in December. Wyoming

Wyoming preppers represented by a Dwarvish miner.

Whats your takeaway on these images? Let me know in the comments.

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US DOJ could still pursue money laundering, sanctions charges against Roman Storm

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US DOJ could still pursue money laundering, sanctions charges against Roman Storm

US DOJ could still pursue money laundering, sanctions charges against Roman Storm

Roman Storm’s trial verdict leaves the door open for US prosecutors to retry the Tornado Cash developer, attorneys said.

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Diane’s husband was killed by a reckless driver – the wait for justice was almost as painful

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Diane's husband was killed by a reckless driver - the wait for justice was almost as painful

Diane Gall’s husband, Martyn, had been out on a morning bike ride with his friends on their usual route one winter morning in November 2020 – when he was killed by a reckless driver. 

Diane and her daughters had to wait almost three years for her husband’s case to be heard in court.

The case was postponed three times, often without warning.

“You just honestly lose faith in the system,” she says.

“You feel there’s a system there that should be there to help and protect victims, to be victims’ voices, but the constant delays really take their toll on individuals and us as a family.”

Diane Gall
Image:
Diane Gall

The first trial date in April 2022 was cancelled on the day and pushed four months later.

The day before the new date, the family were told it wasn’t going ahead due to the barristers’ strike.

It was moved to November 2022, then postponed again, before eventually being heard in June the following year.

“You’re building yourself up for all these dates, preparing yourself for what you’re going to hear, reliving everything that has happened, and it’s retraumatising,” says Diane.

Diane Gall's husband, Martyn
Image:
Diane Gall’s husband, Martyn

‘Radical’ reform needed

Diane’s wait for justice gives us an insight into what thousands of victims and their families are battling every day in a court system cracking under the weight of a record-high backlog.

There are 76,957 cases waiting to be heard in Crown Courts across England and Wales, as of the end of March 2025.

To relieve pressure on the system, an independent review by Sir Brian Leveson last month made a number of recommendations – including creating a new division of the Crown Court known as an intermediate court, made up of a judge and two magistrates, and allowing defendants to choose to be tried by judge alone.

He said only “radical” reform would have an impact.

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Will court reforms tackle backlog?

But according to exclusive data collected for Sky News by the Law Society, there is strong scepticism among the industry about some proposed plans.

Before the review was published, we asked 545 criminal lawyers about the idea of a new tier to the Crown Court – 60% of them told us a type of Intermediate Court was unlikely to reduce the backlog.

chart visualization

“It’s moving a problem from one place to another, like moving the deck chairs on the Titanic. It’s not going to do anything,” says Stuart Nolan, chair of the Law Society’s criminal law committee.

“I think the problem with it is lack of resources or lack of will to give the proper resources.

“You can say we need more staff, but they’re not just any staff, they are people with experience and training, and that doesn’t come quickly or cheap.”

Instead, the lawyers told us creating an additional court would harm the quality of justice.

chart visualization

Chloe Jay, senior partner at Shentons Solicitors, agrees the quality of justice will be impacted by a new court division that could sit without a jury for some offences.

She says: “The beauty of the Crown Court is that you have two separate bodies, one deciding the facts and one deciding law.

Casey Jenkins, president of London Criminal Court Solicitors' Association
Image:
Casey Jenkins, president of London Criminal Court Solicitors’ Association

“So the jury doesn’t hear the legal arguments about what evidence should be excluded, whether something should be considered as part of the trial, and that’s what really gives you that really good, sound quality of justice, because you haven’t got one person making all the decisions together.

“Potentially in an intermediate court, that is what will happen. The same three people will hear those legal arguments and make the finding of guilt or innocence.”

The most striking finding from the survey is that 73% of criminal lawyers surveyed are worried about offences no longer sitting in front of a jury.

chart visualization

Casey Jenkins, president of London Criminal Court Solicitors’ Association, says this could create unconscious bias.

“There’s a real risk that people from minority backgrounds are negatively impacted by having a trial by a judge and not a jury of their peers who may have the same or similar social background to them,” she says.

“A jury trial is protection against professional judicial decisions by the state. It’s a fundamental right that can be invoked.”

Instead of moving some offences to a new Crown Court tier, our survey suggests criminal lawyers would be more in favour of moving cases to the magistrates instead.

Under the Leveson proposals, trials for offences such as dangerous driving, possessing an offensive weapon and theft could be moved out of the Crown Courts.

chart visualization

‘Catastrophic consequences’

Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society, says fixing the system will only work with fair funding.

“It’s as important as the NHS, it’s as important as the education system,” he says. “If it crumbles, there will be catastrophic consequences.”

Ms Jenkins agrees that for too long the system has been allowed to fail.

“Everyone deserves justice, this is just not the answer,” she says.

“It’s just the wrong solution to a problem that was caused by chronic, long-term under-investment in the criminal justice system, which is a vital public service.

“The only way to ensure that there’s timely and fair justice for everybody is to invest in all parts of the system from the bottom up: local services, probation, restorative justice, more funding for lawyers so we can give early advice, more funding for the police so that cases are better prepared.”

Government vows ‘bold and ambitious reform’

In response to Sky News’ findings, the minister for courts and legal services, Sarah Sackman KC MP, told Sky News: “We inherited a record and rising court backlog, leaving many victims facing unacceptable delays to see justice done.

“We’ve already boosted funding in our courts system, but the only way out of this crisis is bold and ambitious reform. That is why we are carefully considering Sir Brian’s bold recommendations for long-term change.

“I won’t hesitate to do whatever needs to be done for the benefit of victims.”

The driver that killed Diane’s husband was eventually convicted. She wants those making decisions about the court system to remember those impacted the most in every case.

Every victim and every family.

“You do just feel like a cog in a big wheel that’s out of your control,” she says. “Because you know justice delayed is justice denied.”

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KakaoBank plans to ‘actively participate’ in stablecoin market: Report

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KakaoBank plans to ‘actively participate’ in stablecoin market: Report

KakaoBank plans to ‘actively participate’ in stablecoin market: Report

South Korea’s KakaoBank is looking at services for the issuance and custody of stablecoins with plans to “actively participate” in the crypto market.

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