Remember the class clown in school? Maybe you were a clown who caused havoc to entertain, distract, and entertain.
Now, Travis Marshall from Woonona in the Illawarra region of New South Wales is a self-proclaimed Australian larrikin who touts clown privilege.
And now, his use of artificial intelligence (AI) in a satirical video about his hometown has gone viral, raising questions about trust, authenticity, and reputation in the age of AI.
“I won the class clown award in Year 12 at school, so I guess I’ve always been a bit of a clown, so yeah, that might show in my work too,” Marshall said.
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Last October, the hobby videographer started using OpenAI’s video generator Sora2.
”[That] It made it easier to create videos, so I started playing around with it,” Marshall said.
As well as death threats, they also received messages asking them to continue their work.
“Initially, we got some hate and death threats and things like that, but I think that’s because AI is so new and it’s probably scary for them.
“Before Photoshop, people believed in photos, but now if you look at a photo, it might have been Photoshopped.
“We are in the process of being replaced by AI and making video editing much easier for the average person to operate.
“It was never easy before.”
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Marshall describes his videos as AI Aussie humor and is not offended by the derogatory term “AI slop.”
“With a lot of AI videos, it’s common to refer to it as AI slop, but I think the definition is a video that’s easily created without a lot of effort,” he said.
“It’s something you can make on your phone during lunch.
“To be fair, there’s a lot of teething.” [issues]I like to make it look as real as possible, especially when I’m on location…but no, I’m not offended by this word.
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“I classify them as AI, but they don’t have to be,” Marshall said.
“We’re not trying to sell this as real, but there are still people who are into it and share it.”
Marshall believes his videos are being shared because they are AI.
“The third time they see it, they might think, ‘Oh, this is AI. Let’s send this to so-and-so and see if they get into it.'”
”It’s just a little prank.”
Travis Marshall creates content using video shot with Sora2 input. (Provided by: Travis Marshall)
Marshall has stated that his content is an extension of his larrikin character.
“We need iconic landmarks like Wollongong Lighthouse, because Wollongong Lighthouse is where people stop when they’re scrolling, they see Wollongong, and then something crazy happens and it’s shared from there,” he said.
”It has to be something they’ve never seen before, and it’s probably going to get wilder and wilder.”
attract attention
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Marshall’s videos, which include a man fighting a kangaroo outside a pub, a vehicle crashing into Wollongong Harbor and a fisherman arriving in a small boat at Kiama Blowhole, have racked up millions of views.
Oliver Goodetti, a cyberpsychologist at the University of Wollongong, advises viewers to check whether content is classified as AI and ask not only how plausible the scenario is, but also what the creator’s intentions are.
“From what is publicly visible, this account appears to be structuring its content as AI-generated and operating in a satirical and exaggerated ‘local news’ style rather than with any clear deceptive intent,” he said.
”Click to select social media. It does not understand what is good or bad behavior. Just choose based on your caution.”
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fear of AI
Guidetti says AI has no moral compass.
“This is a machine we built to learn, but you can’t tell it to learn this, don’t learn that. It doesn’t work that way,” he says.
When Snoop Dogg “shared” Travis Marshall’s video, did he think it was filmed in real life? (Provided by: Travis Marshall)
He argues that AI will widen the gap between what is seen on social media and reality.
“I think there’s always been a huge disconnect between what we see on social media and what’s actually happening in the world,” he said.
“Before AI, Photoshop created augmentations of reality that created body image issues for young women and caused real medical conditions for vast numbers of people.
“This is just an example of people seeing something on social media and applying it to their own lives.”
He says that while the technology has positive applications, it’s natural for consumers to have questions about how it’s being used.
“This gentleman is using AI as an artistic medium, which is great, but how will AI affect us?
“You can’t look at it in one particular way; it’s going to be very individual.
“When you use a free platform like Sora2, you are the product.
“So should people trust AI? Absolutely, unequivocally, not.”
