AI's Influence On Social Media
PC: Rawpixel
As our daily screen times climb to a hefty 12 hours a day, the lines between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ content begin to blur. However, when artificial intelligence is added to the mix, the question of ethical consumerism becomes an increasingly controversial topic. AI overruns our social media platforms, often being mistaken for real, human-made material. So, what is AI content? Why does it matter? What can we do?
Many trends on social media today include input from AI, such as the ‘glass fruit cutting’ wave that has infiltrated TikTok for the past few months. In a much less obvious sense, many videos on the internet involve AI voiceovers, AI-generated images, or are just entirely computer-generated. This can be a way for creators to pocket the money they would have paid a freelance artist for the same work otherwise. On the flip side, other creators profit more from the fact that their audience knows the content is entirely synthetic. One example of this being the thousands of very obviously AI-generated songs and videos— some users make thousands by simply feeding prompts into ChatGPT.
The underlying harm, however, lies in the majority’s lack of disclosure on whether or not something is computer-generated. While AI can be an extremely powerful tool, excessive usage of it starts a deeper conversation on whether or not AI-generated content can be called ‘content’ at all. Not to mention the undeniable environmental impact that comes with millions of these prompts— requiring extreme amounts of water and electricity, each AI prompt digs us deeper into the ongoing crisis of climate change. Instead of relying on each other for originality and creation, AI-generated content is, and always will be, utilized for sheer convenience despite the indisputable underlying harms. No matter the pros and cons, our dependence on computers over community is becoming an increasing concern throughout online spaces.
Many argue that, as humans, one way that we connect with each other is by creating art to share complex ideas. But, oddly enough, millions of people use AI with the intent to create that type of art. With billions of human artists on this planet, how are we still denying ourselves the connection that art is created for? With freelance artists and commissioning available, what other excuse is there? Social media’s whole purpose is to connect humans across the planet. But, with how frequently AI is used on the internet today, fewer real interactions are being made between human beings. AI has quickly made its way into our online spaces, and it won’t be leaving any time soon.
Though artificial intelligence is a gleaming part of our future, its intention is best received when used minimally with a display of genuine effort and ideas. Without that, its content lacks thought, taking away the importance from people who could have easily created the same thing. AI’s influence on social media is inevitable, but some content-sharing spaces should be reserved for the humans that occupy them.
