Ranting about youtube hypocrisy (in regards to AI)

 I made a promise to myself last year, that I simply blocked and unsubscribed from people who made thumbnails with 'no AI' or had 'caught doing AI, yikes' type titles. I can't be bothered, man. And if you think it's because they are against AI you would be dead wrong! 

I think it's a good thing that people are skeptical of AI, and I also don't think AI belongs in a whole lot of the spaces where you can sadly find it. Like challenges, competitions, classrooms, - not to mention dating apps, warfare, motor vehicles and so forth. 

And I guess you all know my personal opinion on NFTs and selling something made with more than under 10% AI... I think it's morally bankrupt, - fight me.  

But since the anti AI people leave no room for nuances between black and white, - I find their argumentation stupid and meaningless. I find ANY fucker with a black and white take on life super stupid. And don't come at me with the fucking Hitler argument, - look, it's seriously apples and oranges my boy. 

Fascism builds on excluding and oppressing whatever group of people, - be that a group with a shared trait, like religion, culture or ethnicity. Without the exclusion and demonisation, fascism doesn't work. Because it's the backbone of the necessary us and them rethorics. But why does it still exist, you might ask? 

Well because people are still prone to binary thinking. 

And then, tell me who around here is the fucking fascist? I am not excluding you, now am I? - But you NEED to exclude me, and why is that? Because if you don't tell everyone with a pair of ears how much you hate AI, people might think you didn't. And that would be absolutely the end of the world... right.

I spent so much time trying to talk to these people, trying to make them understand that AI isn't just Elon boy. And it's also not tech-bros, - there are SO many people who use AI in some capacity or another. And sometimes I feel kinda silly for even defending it to some extent, because after all I don't use it often. I think chatbots sucks monkey ass, I never use it - even if it's forced upon my phone every time Apple feels like an update. 

So before I start clowning on people, - I felt like telling you where I come from, and what exactly bothers me. And in case you are not sure what I mean about value signalling, here is some form of definition: 

Virtue signaling is a pejorative term for publicly expressing a moral, political, or social viewpoint mainly to prove one's good character or gain social approval, rather than taking meaningful action or showing genuine commitment

In other words, - it is when you feel like telling everyone that you are on the 'right' and 'good' side of whatever issue, and you do so by yelling off the rooftops, or mention it five times in an unrelated conversation. 

Think of something like Americans when it comes to topics like religion and topics related to it. They are completely confident in telling you that homosexuality, and abortion is a sin, - a fucking sin. They must have missed that day in crazy christian school where they went over the seven cardinal sins I suppose. Cause neither homosexuality or abortion is on the bingo card ladies and germs. 

But they will tell you about it anyway, also when you didn't ask - much like vegans I might add.  And that is where we're fucking at with the whole AI shit on youtube. 

I DON'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT YOUR OPINION ON AI OR YOUR PERSONAL DEFINITION OF SLOP! THIS IS A TRUE CRIME PODCAST, SIR! 

I mean, I am all for youtubers not wanting to use any form of AI, just like I am okay with people using AI to create videos, and if you truly think all AI or AI-hybrid content is shit. You are dead wrong again, bro. 

And before I start throwing shade, - please remember I don't know these people. They might be wonderful people in real life. It is the value signaling and the context it's presented in that I am clowning on, - not them as a person. 

My absolutely youtube kryptonite is definitely 'person with microphone has opinion about everything'. And someone who springs to mind is iNabber. In case you don't know what kind of content he makes, it's him standing in front of a microphone having a very often simplified and populistic opinion about anything that is trending. I remember clicking on one of his videos, in regards to some totally unrelated topic. And he basically started it off with a long ass rant about people who use AI is "obviously" not creative, and that "everyone knew that as a fact". And then I clicked off the video, - I never made it through his rant. I'm not gonna lie, that pissed me right off. 

And why is that? because I see content like he is making as the absolute bottom of the barrel, low effort shit. 

I don't hate commentary content at all, - but if you ask me. It's not what he's making at all, because commentary requires effort. Most commentary channels bring something new to the topic, like screenshots, or a recorded phone call, or perhaps an old unlisted video from someone... whatever the shit. But iNabber, he just talks about other people's clips, judging it out from his own warped personal moral compass or something. Not to forget, bro didn't change his damn backdrop for years. I realise he want to come off as lowkey and relatable. 

I would lie if I said I had a lot of respect for this type content, - because this content is hype or trend based. It's basically a boring cancel culture mouthpiece. They just take what is popular and throw it back at you, - and that to me, - is absolute slop. And when it comes with a side dish of moral outrage for no goddamn reason, making absolutely insane generalisations of a whole group of people... yeah you lost the fucking plot. 

Did you hear me say that everyone who makes this type content are stupid, or don't have their own opinion... no. I said it's low effort dickriding of some trend, all for that sweet youtube gold. Did iNabber call everyone who use AI uncreative grifters, - yes he did.  

Now he is just one of many, and he isn't even the worst offender if you ask me. 

Then we have the 'I don't use AI tagline on my thumbnail', creators. I am not going to name any specific creator here, but it bothers the shit out of me. Why do you need to have it on your thumbnail? I just swipe left, man. I don't care what their channel is about, I can already tell I don't want to watch anything they made. 

And we're somehow back to the binary narrative, - like 'I am one of you, you can see that on my thumbnail'. Why do you need to do that? that is literally fucking INSANE, bro. Either people enjoy your content or they don't, why do you need to herald your personal opinion? I also don't care if you like dogs or cats best, or what your favorite color is. And yeah, I am making fun of it, - i know. 

But it doesn't change the fact that I find it absolutely fucking mad to include an 'no ai' tag on your thumbnail. And look, if we talked about creative stuff where AI might be an issue worth talking about, like art, writing or coding. But it's just fucking not, - it's a video about Ted Bundy, or v8 engines.

And just because I am a judgemental bitch myself, I cringe every time I see 'human voiced' or '100% human' on any video. WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS? - and sure I know the answer to that question. It's because there are many AI narrated videos on youtube for instance, - but dude, why are you afraid people think you're AI? that is just crazy talk! You can't placate these people anyway, they are the same people who called out that Monet painting as AI, - because they can ALWAYS tell, didn't you know? 

I swear to me it sounds like me trying to come up with a plausible explanation to my mum, as to why my brother had a bloody nose. Like you are very aggressively apologizing without being sorry about anything, - BEFORE anyone asked you. It's super backwards, man. I can only see the need to include the 'no ai' shit on the thumbnail if; 

A) it's what's trending right now, and you want to attract the zealots.

B) you are in fact using AI but think they won't notice if you just advertise you do not.

It's unnecessary value signaling, which only helps ostracized a bunch of your co-creators on youtube. I truly don't understand why these people insist on digging a moat, where no moat was needed.

The subtle "I make bank on drama, but I judge you for AI because I have class" girlies. I didn't want to place this in the same category as the 'I have opinions', because admitted these girls actually don't make low effort content at all. My best example is a creator named 'Laura Rae Says' (let's just call her Laura), also I think her channel used to be called something like 'laura reads', but I could be wrong. 

So I actually really enjoyed her content, and unlike so many other creators that I unsubscribed from due to this general topic. I did not ask the algorithm to not suggest her videos, because I still genuinely enjoy some of her stuff. But I don't want to be subscribed to her anymore, simply because I can't support her take on AI. 

And I won't lie, I find it incredibly hypocritical to earn money from drama, and throwing shade at authors. And then pretend you have the right to preach from mount Sinai. That is insane! I very much think it's like with the 'no ai' thumbnail videos. It's nothing more than peer pressure, I think Laura says the things she does, takes the stance she takes. Because that is the "right" thing to do, and if she doesn't, - well the book tok crazies are coming for her. 

She is by no means the only book tuber who does this, - and I think I might just be salty for once, because I used to really like her channel. I find it incredibly crude to say shit like 'this cover is AI, so the book is probably AI'... you don't fucking know that! there's many people who can't afford a damn cover artist. So they just can't publish, is that what you are saying?

It rings so incredibly hollow in my ears, it truly does. I thought this was about supporting indie authors, - but apparently only those who paid for a cover artist, or got away with making one in Canva. It blows my fucking mind, it truly does! All those fucking hockey romance YA books look the SAME! but that is super nice and creative apparently. 

I have to admit I fail to see that, - I truly do. 

Take an author like Sara Maas, she was 'caught' leaving some of the AI prompts in her fucking book, and also had AI covers, -  and she is a best selling author. Did her publishing company miss that the prompting was left in the book, yes. Did they run her book with an AI cover, also yes. Did that hurt Maas? No, because she is writing something all those fucking thirsty dark romance girls want to read. 

Rules for thee, not for me. 

Now to be fair, Laura didn't take this stance, she 'did' actually clown on Maas for the AI prompt in her book. And also she doesn't always talk about this topic, and when she does talk about AI it sorta seems a little more 'prompted' (bad pun intended). I mean it's not left field, like with iNabber.

The reason I mention her here is because I think all those book tubers are stupid hypocritical, when it comes to the topic of AI. And worse, they help maintain this really destructive and false narrative about AI. As in 'some AI = all AI'. So if an indie author is "caught", and I fucking HATE that phrase! using AI to any extent, like their cover. These girls will descend on them like a swarm of locusts! 

I don't think Laura ever talked about this one specific episode that I recalled happened like two years ago, - but I do recall other book tubers who did. So this young girl who was just about to publish her first self published book, and was happily making promotion tik toks (like those young people do). She made the grave mistake of saying she used character-AI to talk with her own characters. As in private chat models, made by her, for her. 

You'd think girlfriend was caught with a fucking bomb-belt in an airport. The reaction was swift and brutal. And this poor girl ended up deleting her tik tok, and I don't know if she ever published her book. But most likely the amount of unreasonable hate she got, probably sucked every drop of fun and excitement out of it. 

Way to ruin someone's career before they even got started, assholes. 

And that is my problem with Laura and other channels like hers, - they feed and maintain this stupid narrative. Which is really easy for them to do, I just wish they wouldn't. There is a difference between an AI book and a book with AI cover. 

Nobody want to read an AI book, but these people could help broaden the fucking horizon for people, but they chose not to. And my best guess is the same reason as "no AI" thumbnail people. They are afraid the leopards will eat THEIR face if they don't follow the stream. 

And another issue I have, which is purely personal, - is the fucking condescending way they do it. It makes me want to yell and kick shit. I can't man... shit like "why would you use AI, just commission someone and support real art", or "it can't be a surprise that no one liked this book, the cover is AI, I can totally tell!" 

Oh, fuck of, man... just fuck right off, and then some. 

Let's not forget my personal fucking nemesis, the "breaking out the worlds smallest violin to placate the mob." channels. And no I am not naming anyone here, because this is a deeply personal issue I have. I could have called the category, "Oops, here's my ukulele, please don't unsubscribe." or perhaps "I have no friends, only a brand." 

unlike the other categories, I have a personal grudge here. So I will refrain from being more petty than I have already been, - and describe this in very broad and vague terms. 

But basically it is creators who gladly used AI all over the place, thumbnails, backgrounds, even music. The major thing being they did not create any of the AI stuff themselves, they sourced that from other people, and so they didn't really deal with the bullshit. They would just hold up the "I commissioned this" shield, and play dumb, or simply not answer, - when other people questioned the AI content used. 

We all know that trends come round full circle, so when that anti AI narrative hit their specific type content, they could no longer afford to play dumb or ignorant. But instead of owning it, instead of standing up for their team, or whatever. They threw everyone and their pet gerbil under the bus, and some claimed they simply didn't know, and some changed their thumbnails to a boring ass picture of their face. 

Oh did they scramble, - they were frantically trying to salvage whatever was left of their brand. Trying to convince their audience that 'it wasn't their fault', 'they weren't told it was AI'. Efficiently cutting off ties to everyone they had made previous collaborations with. Links and credits were removed, so did the music or the thumbnail. 

And as someone who makes thumbnails with and without AI for other youtube creators, - the sole fucking reason I do that is exposure. Come on it's a food chain of clicks that benefits us all if we play by the books. 

This crazy ordeal left many I know with fucking mental whiplash, you went from being 'the team', to being blocked or ghosted. Everything you created for someone was gone, and your name scrubbed. So we had to decide if it went both ways. Personally I didn't do that, I left those videos up with the upload of the thumbnail, even if the thumbnail in the video changed. 

In a meta perspective, my main issues with these type creators is not that they care about their brand, it's the lack of ownership. It's incredibly close to trend dickriding if I'm honest, - there's nothing genuine about it. There's the worry about your income from youtube, because you're scared you'll be canceled. 

In a personal perspective, my main issue with creators like this, is; YOU HAVE FUCKING EYEBALLS! don't tell me you didn't know it was AI, - why are you're fucking lying, bro. 

Look, my point is, - do or do not use AI in your channel graphics, or your background music or whatever the snot. But own it, man. And the fact that they are willing to fuck over a whole bunch of people to try and save their brand is ridiculous. It's preak capitalism, disguised as relatable youtube content. 

And the very petty part of me, is kinda smiling when I see their patreons are closing down, and they lost their entire core audience on that stunt. Because it was for nothing! they were trying to placate something that doesn't exist, - a group of trolls feigning moral outrage? come the fuck on. 

I have seen a couple of them, returning to their home made mediocre AI thumbnails. And why is that you might ask? because the second the "danger" was gone, their brand was safe. They found their CTR tanked, because their thumbnails were shit. And they need that sweet CTR to stay in the youtube partner program. But nobody want to make their fucking thumbnails now, - because we talk too. And no one want to work with a dodgy asshole for free, - best of days you get some traffic to whatever site you have. Worst of days you're fed to the wolves without warning. 

So yeah, call me petty. But I think it's fucking karma, that's what I think. 

And I just happen to think the "micro influencer" energy is insanely tone deaf across the board. I don't think you have to be for or against any AI to see these people are not your friends. 

And lastly I have to mention the "my identity is hating AI" people, and there are many, many versions of these channels, some are topic specific, others not. 

It's no secret that I find these channels completely unhinged, and they really shouldn't be allowed on the platform. It's nothing but crude hateful bullshit, just there to cater to a specific audience. 

Why it's not hate speech is beyond me, but apparently it isn't. I sometimes get these videos like "AI destroyed" something, be that art, youtube, the planet or your integrity. This type holier than thou videos are seriously off putting, and it doesn't matter what the topic is. 

The reason I am mentioning it, is because of the wording on the titles and thumbnails. They are very 'call to arms' like, very strongly worded. like 'destroyed' or 'is dead'. Just examples but still, they often word things in a catastrophic way, for whatever reason.

Like, I don't like dogs. Imagine I made a video that as called "all dogs can bite, and should not be anyone's pet." I somehow don't think that would work well for the whole 20 seconds it was live. But somehow "all AI tech bros as dangerous, and must be deplatformed", is okay. 

To end this rant, I want to say this:

Don't normalise shaming indie authors for using any form of AI, be that the cover, or perhaps in some promotional video. You are hurting a lot of good and talented people, but people who happens to be broke and so they utilize whatever the snot they have available to try and compete. And trust me, we, - the actual indie authors. We are actually pretty chill, it's the book tube people, or the zealot readers who are bringing the fight. And I find that absolutely fucking abhorrent, not to mention stupid. 

If creatives really supported creatives, you'd perhaps help people find solutions. Truth is, they don't want solutions, they want someone to shame, - because there's youtube CTR in that shit.

I am not making an argument for AI, I am making an argument for creative people actually DO implement AI to a minor extent in some things, and others they do not. Just because someone made something with AI doesn't mean everything they ever made or will make is AI. It's not a fucking character flaw, and you shouldn't trust the shit youtube feeds you. 

Just think about it, - who has the better enticement for maintaining this narrative.  And I don't mean 'all hail the AI gods', - those people are fucking nuts. But the narrative that people who use AI to any extent however minor, are morally corrupt, - I really believe we as a species are smart enough to see that is wack. 

To blindly believe a whole group of people are terrible people for something that you just don't like. That is not normal, - that is a curated narrative, that is opinion weaponised. And all I am asking is that you question who is trying to make you do their dirty work. Because it sure as shit ain't me.