Last evening I was watching some YouTube videos to wind down. One video in particular looked interesting, so I started watching.
At first, I didn't notice anything off. But the longer I watched, the more I got the feeling that this wasn't real. It looked close. It was a gentleman talking to the camera. Highly scripted, but there were subtle signs of AI.
The longer I watched, the more I wanted to leave. That's unusual for me because I tend to deep-dive on most videos and watch to the end. I've even watched some car restoration videos over 2 hours long!
It just became too boring. The information was overshadowed by the vanilla perfect video format.
All of this causes me to think about when (or if) people will accept the artificial over the authentic. We are at the point right now where the choices are being made.
I expect that the person creating this video felt good that they had created a "perfect" video. But when is "perfect" too perfect? And, what good is a perfect AI video if people tune out?
I promise you, in my training courses, podcasts, and other content, you will hear some "uhs", a chuckle here and there, and other imperfections. Yes, I do some editing, but I also leave in some character.
I remember many years ago, as a child, anything artificial was something to be hidden to some degree and sometimes even ashamed of. Take artificial flowers and fruit, for example. Granted, artificial flowers are much easier to care for, and they look close to the real thing, but they lack the full beauty of real flowers. It takes skill to care for real flowers.
If you are a creator, I beg you to keep creating real stuff. Write the real article or song. Paint or draw the real picture. Write and sing the real song.
Yes, I do use AI as a tool for basic tasks like generating video thumbnails, getting topic ideas, summarizing videos, etc. But I try to stop short of relying on AI to pump out content that might look good, but is inauthentic.
My goal is to stay authentic. You get what you see with me - warts and all.
Please join me!
