Ethos seemed like one of Austin's hottest restaurants back in 2024. The eatery rose to prominence in October as tens of thousands of followers flocked to its Instagram page, a showcase of lustrous dishes such as the crustless pizza ball, and the eye-grabbing dust mite bread loaf. There was only one small problem — Ethos only existed on Instagram, and its seemingly impossible bites were really just AI slop. Though the intentions behind the bizarre social media stunt remain a mystery, Ethos was a huge red flag, warning of the slow creep of AI into the food and beverage industry. […]