The Perils of AI-Generated Videos

 

Photo by Kindel Media: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-clicbot-slicing-holding-a-knife-near-wooden-chopping-board-9028912/

As the ability of AI tools to create life-like videos grows by leaps and bounds, one needs to take a step back and look at the implications of these paradigm-redefining technologies. The biggest positive is that it makes video and filmmaking available to whoever may care to dabble in it, regardless of how much money they have or the kind of technical training they may or may not have received. This pushes open the doors to creative filmmaking for would-be movie makers, professional YouTubers, advertising and PR professionals, educationists, business people and just about anyone seeking to leverage videos to promote themselves or their products and services.

On the flip side, AI-generated deepfake videos are the biggest danger, as the recent Tailor Swift incident clearly demonstrated. They are also potent weapons for spreading misinformation, which can be used by nations at war or unscrupulous politicians seeking to push bizarre conspiracy theories in order to win elections.  Even legally created AI videos can be quite harmful to the interests of a whole range of professionals. Famous movie actors may, for instance, be compelled by circumstances to allow the likeness of their images to be signed away to movie corporations to use as they see fit. New actors may never get to practice their craft. The sword of AI-generated videos would also hang on TV news presenters' and anchors' heads as media organisations might prefer to deploy AI-generated life-like news and programme presenters.

There would no longer be any flesh and blood travel vloggers needed as anyone could create wonderfully crafted life-like travel videos simply by asking AI to both script and film these according to one’s exact specifications and requirements. With everybody consuming virtual content that has been regurgitated from all the content of that type that has preceded it, there will be a gradual erosion in the quality of the content as there will really be nothing new and original that will get created. People may stop viewing videos altogether owing to the presence of millions of slickly made videos possessing no soul. What is human existence without sweat, tears and toil leading to celebratory triumph?

Already the young are doomscrolling the stupidest of reels on their phones all day and sometimes all night long.  Better and better AI-created videos will only further this addiction. Life will become eerily close to what they show in the Matrix movies. People will lose their humanity and forget the very purpose of life. This will not leave the owners of the neo-colonial big-tech firms unscathed, for they are part of the universe of humans too-or are they?