“Certified by Leopold?” – When AI Almost Gets It Right

🛸 When the Stamp Doesn’t Land: A Creative Teacher vs. the AI Stumble

By Misdy Black – educator, creator, and alien enthusiast 👽

As a teacher who designs playful, themed learning experiences for young children, I rely on a mix of imagination, visuals, and digital tools. One of my beloved characters is Leopold, a spiky blue alien who guides my preschoolers through English lessons. In our current story arc, “Leopold and the Great Space Mystery,” he’s lost his spaceship and needs help – including finding his way to the police station.

So naturally, I wanted to reward my students for helping him:
a round, rubber-stamp-style certificate with Leopold in the center and text like

“Certified by Leopold – Official Alien Stamp.”

Here is the final version

 

Sounds simple, right?

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🤖 Where AI Went Wrong (Three Times - and didn't offer a Fourth)

Using AI tools that are supposed to support creativity, I asked for a stamp graphic. But here’s what happened:

1. Wrong Character – The AI kept inventing new alien designs, instead of using my actual drawing of Leopold – even though I had uploaded the correct image.

2. Typos in the Stamp Text – It generated stamps that said things like "STION STAMP" (instead of STATION or STAMP) or "ALIIEN". This happened multiple times, even after I gave exact wording.

3. No Control Over Style – Despite clear instructions, the tool added unnecessary artistic interpretation, changed the character, or ignored formatting.

It became frustrating: I was wasting time, wasting my own artwork, and getting results that were “close, but wrong.”

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💡 What Should Have Worked – and Finally Did

What I needed was simple:

• Use my original character image exactly as uploaded

• Place it in a circular “stamp” design

• Add text exactly as specified

• Output a clean PNG I could print for my students

In the end, it worked – but only half a thanks to the AI image generator. It took one of the "almost there"- outcomes and an added Bubblegum planet to cover the mistake. 

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💔Kind Words, Broken Tools

At one point, I voiced my frustration directly – saying I felt like I was wasting time and even my own carefully drawn artwork. The assistant responded politely and acknowledged the problem, which I genuinely appreciated. That respectful tone didn’t fix the issue on its own, but it gave me the space to breathe, refocus, and – in the end time to change perspective. Oddly enough, the polite replies didn’t just soften the moment; they actually encouraged me to take control and create with other tools what I was looking for. 

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✏️ Final Thoughts

This experience reminded me of something important:

Creativity isn’t just about having ideas – it’s also about having control.

AI can be a fantastic helper, but only if it respects your input. When it doesn’t, it becomes more like a stubborn student than a helpful assistant.

I still believe in AI-assisted creativity. But next time I ask for a stamp about an alien named Leopold, I expect the stamp to be as I told AI. 👣🛸