Audio By Vocalize
AI is wonderful but it should not replace human creativity.[iStockphoto]
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is wonderful. It accelerates the pace at which one goes through mundane tasks. But it is also “artificial” and that’s perhaps why many regular consumers of the media are suffering what I feel can be described as AI fatigue. I have been with people watching TV when an obviously AI-generated advert comes on, and you can clearly hear many sigh at how fake it is.
I think as humans, we are designed to subconsciously appreciate, respect and trust genuine human effort and skill. Indeed, there is a certain texture to human creativity that machines will struggle to replicate. And this may be in the awkward pauses in conversations or the imperfect but memorable facial expressions. Audiences may not always articulate it, but they sense authenticity almost instinctively. That’s the reason why people still gravitate toward live performances even when studio recordings are technically cleaner. There is also a reason why audiences still admire a hand-painted mural or a personally-written speech. I am sure people connect with such works because the effort put signals sincerity.
It is perhaps this very absence of visible effort and emotional imperfection that makes so much AI-generated content feel strangely hollow. The problem with much of the AI-generated content flooding the media space today is not necessarily that it is bad. In fact, some of it is remarkably polished. The only problem with it is that it often feels emotionally empty and looks finished before it even begins. The faces are too symmetrical and the voices are too smooth. And after a while, such content starts to feel like manufactured stimulation, designed only to hold attention for a few seconds before disappearing into the endless scroll.
