Platforms are finally recognizing that people don’t want to consume AI slop. A growing number of sites and apps now have tools and policies to flag, label, and ban AI-generated content.
One of the most interesting people I’ve ever met was a woman who hand painted signs and “flash” on windows.
As a teenager, she left home to join the circus, because she wanted to learn how to paint all the signs and posters that you see at circuses and travelling fairs. After several years in a travelling circus, she decided to start a business as a commercial sign company. She invested heavily in vinyl cutters, industrial printers, a large shop to house all the equipment, and hired employees to run the equipment.
But once she started going to meet with potential clients, according to her, nobody wanted the laser cut, industrially precision printed sign work; once clients found out she had the ability to create high quality hand-painted signs and flash, they hired her to do the hand-painted work. It turns out, that people are so bombarded by machine mass manufactured signs and images, that people tend to block it out as so much disinteresting background noise. But the hand-painted stuff stands out, even when produced with near-mechanical levels of precision.
So she sold the big shop and equipment. And now, she drives in a truck, filled with her paint and supplies, to a client with her daughter. The owner says what they want, she and her daughter go back to the truck, design it on the spot, get approval from the owner, paint it same day, take their payment and go on to the next client.
It reminds me of how so many people are getting tired of overproduced auto-tuned music. It just fades into the background.
I think AI content is quickly doing the same thing, fading into the background as slop. But people have such a (rightly) negative opinion of it, that I think a hard return to authenticity is going to come back fast. Its interesting how YouTube has started purging AI content creators. Back when there was a controversy surrounding ai content channels pushing violent and sexual content to children, very little was done outside public outrage. But now that the stuff is actively driving less people to interact with the platforms, the companies are aggressively purging these channels.
One of the most interesting people I’ve ever met was a woman who hand painted signs and “flash” on windows.
As a teenager, she left home to join the circus, because she wanted to learn how to paint all the signs and posters that you see at circuses and travelling fairs. After several years in a travelling circus, she decided to start a business as a commercial sign company. She invested heavily in vinyl cutters, industrial printers, a large shop to house all the equipment, and hired employees to run the equipment.
But once she started going to meet with potential clients, according to her, nobody wanted the laser cut, industrially precision printed sign work; once clients found out she had the ability to create high quality hand-painted signs and flash, they hired her to do the hand-painted work. It turns out, that people are so bombarded by machine mass manufactured signs and images, that people tend to block it out as so much disinteresting background noise. But the hand-painted stuff stands out, even when produced with near-mechanical levels of precision.
So she sold the big shop and equipment. And now, she drives in a truck, filled with her paint and supplies, to a client with her daughter. The owner says what they want, she and her daughter go back to the truck, design it on the spot, get approval from the owner, paint it same day, take their payment and go on to the next client.
It reminds me of how so many people are getting tired of overproduced auto-tuned music. It just fades into the background.
I think AI content is quickly doing the same thing, fading into the background as slop. But people have such a (rightly) negative opinion of it, that I think a hard return to authenticity is going to come back fast. Its interesting how YouTube has started purging AI content creators. Back when there was a controversy surrounding ai content channels pushing violent and sexual content to children, very little was done outside public outrage. But now that the stuff is actively driving less people to interact with the platforms, the companies are aggressively purging these channels.