Edem Atsu, Campus Carrier contributor
Maybe you’ve heard of Xania Monet or the controversy surrounding the allegedly originally AI-generated song “I Run” by Haven. Or you might have seen videos of animals on trampolines or the heartbreaking animated cat stories flooding social media. Whether you’ve heard of or experienced these specific things yourself, I’m sure by now we’ve all seen at least one AI generated video and heard one AI-generated song. So why shouldn’t we continue to entertain these things as they come across our feeds?
The effect AI centers have on the environment and people in the communities these centers are set up in is overwhelmingly negative, and although many of us know this, we might wonder what we can do about it. The videos and songs were already generated, so why miss out? The answer is simple in theory. If generators of this type of content aren’t receiving the views and engagement they need to monetize their content, then they’re not making money. In reality, though, these content generators are not going to be wiped out by a single choice. If more people choose not to engage with that content, however, the market will dry up.
When we are conscious of what content we are consuming, we allow ourselves to make more purposeful, valuable and ethically driven choices. Being aware of every like, share and comment meaning you are telling algorithms what you want to see and can help stop the spread of misinformation, disinformation and sensationalism.
Avoiding AI slop doesn’t have to mean missing out on the things in it you might enjoy. AI content often takes its artistic content from real life sources, so if you are attempting to avoid AI content, there is often a real-life source just waiting to be found. If there is no source, there are many creators who recreate popular AI slop music, slime videos and other content with their skills or artistic abilities. AI can be a valuable tool, but it doesn’t need to be used everywhere. We can exercise control over what we consume, and we will be better for it.