AI slops are everywhere these days. It's in your bait, it's in your video, and recently it's in the White House. People like Openai CEO Sam Altman call that progress. “Creativity could be about to experience a Cambrian explosion, and with that, the quality of art and entertainment could greatly improve,” Altman announced the latest update to Openai's AI-Video generator Sora on his personal blog. Sam, that's great, but most of us see through this veil of bullshit thinly disguised by the truth. The only thing AI is trying to do to arts and entertainment is to enstify it.
This seems to be the fact that even the Viral YouTube star, Jimmy Donaldson (aka Mrbeast), can be grateful. This week, Donaldson took to social media to share his concerns about excessive concerns about AI-generated content. “When AI videos are as good as regular videos, I wonder what it does to YouTube and how it affects the millions of creators who are currently making content for their livelihoods,” Donaldson added, “a scary time.”
This isn't exactly an incredibly original sociological analysis, but it's interesting to see it coming from people at the top of the industry where social media is dominated. Donaldson and his kind represent a basic subsection of today's creative class. Being an influencer is, for better or worse, one route that young people can indulge in creative self-expression these days. Like many others, their careers can be threatened by new forms of automation, as AI companies begin to sell services to advertisers and businesses, and to wipe out opportunities for human artists.
Mrbeast's company was valued at $5 billion earlier this year, but according to Bloomberg, “we suffered three years of losses in 2024, including over $110 million.” The problem is that running a viral empire is expensive and Donaldson reinvests his profits into content. The overhead of AI influencers is compared to pitance. If a media giant like Mrbeast can barely hold his head on the water while chasing domination, what is the chance for the next person to follow in his footsteps?
Hollywood was also surprised by the recent emergence of a new “AI actress” called Tilly Norwood. Norwood, a digital creator of the company called Particle 6, recently made headlines despite the fact that she is not authentic. At least some of the film business Numbskulls think she is the next Sydney Sweeney. The audience soon gathers at the theater and drops $100 for the whole family to enjoy her latest flick. The fact that talent agents are said to be “interested” with Norwood (is that some kind of joke?) reportedly has caused some tension in the acting community.
But no one is nervous about Tilly Norwood. Because no one in their right mind wants to see a movie starring characters entirely AI-generated. The whole concept is ridiculous and anyone who thinks it is a kind of great business opportunity clearly does not understand the underlying reasons why people value art. The reason for this is: it is human. Yes, art is about connecting with others through ideas and emotions. It is not about evaluating the images generated by the algorithm. So, while we understand concerns about AI's invasion into the arts, it also shows that consumers essentially don't want what AI companies are trying to sell.
Given the quality of Mrbeast's content, it focuses primarily on putting real people in extreme situations where they are trying to win life-changing money. This is a drama that AI cannot recreate no matter how many times GPUS Sam Altman purchases.
