My Phoenix bill went up too, but it's mostly just eggs and beef.

My buddy runs a print shop and we had a long talk about this after a client tried to pass off a Midjourney piece as their own illustration. The key is to just ask the gallery staff, point blank, about the process and materials. Most honest places will tell you, and the ones that get squirrely are a red flag. It forces some transparency without you having to be the expert. I'd also check if the artist has any other work online, because AI-only folks usually have a very thin portfolio.

Remember my buddy's old cordless drill? Thing was a tank from like 2008. Finally gave up last month, motor just quit. He opened it up for fun, and the new replacement part was literally designed to snap. Planned failure, right in front of him. Makes you wonder if they even try to hide it anymore. Twelve years does sound like a win now, but it's a sad win.