Pixel people

Every now and again I’ll pull up a video from the anti-AI crowd to help balance the pro-AI videos I watch. I’m often disappointed with both sides because they all seem to be content creators who are responding to algorithmic feedback. Their existing audience either sets the agenda, or the audience arrives in response to the stance they take. At least, that’s my interpretation of what is going on.

I find myself being more and more convinced that YouTubers are not my friends. They might actually just be video files being stored on servers in data centers. Stick with me here. It’s entirely possible that they are just people who project a particular image of friendliness as they stand in front of a camera reading from a script. Then they edit the recording to cut out all the awkward parts and manage pacing. They upload the video and give it an enticing title. What I’m seeing might actually be a manufactured experience. If that’s the case, then what I’m actually seeing are pixels on my screen that, taken together, resemble an authentic human interaction.

Because that’s what the YouTubers call the thing they do. When they’re dehumanizing people who use AI, the content creators refer to their own work as “authentic” and “human”. Which is good because otherwise I’ve been ignoring the authentic humans in my life in order to watch pixel people.