Newstex Blog
YouTube recently wanted me to watch a video about the ancient Egyptian bureaucrat-turned-demigod Imhotep. I knew it was going to be a hot mess from the thumbnail alone. Obviously AI-generated, it made poor Imhotep look like he’d just visited the face-painting booth at the county fair. The actual content, such as it was, featured an artificial voice reading out nonsensical statements like “Imhotep lived in the ancient Egyptian period 267 BCE AD 648” (he actually lived around the 27th century BCE). Unfortunately, schlock like this has become all too common as many creators try to churn out as much content as possible with the least amount of effort. But while the Imhotep video was just cringy, there is a darker side to low-effort content. YouTuber Harry Brewis (aka hbomberguy) recently put out a four-hour video exploring the increasing prevalence of plagiarized content on the platform.
The other day I stumbled upon an interview that POLITICO did with Fr. Paolo Benanti, a Franciscan friar who advises Pope Francis on matters related to artificial intelligence. Until I read that article, I had no idea that the Vatican was paying such close attention to AI. But I’m glad they do because they can offer a unique and valuable perspective that’s often overlooked. Benanti’s core argument is that we need to have “human-centric” AI that operates within carefully prescribed limits. As he told POLITICO, “[s]ome people treat AIs like idols, like oracles, like demigods. The risk is that they delegate critical thinking and decisional power to these machines.”
I recently stumbled upon a video about all the YouTubers who are either quitting the platform entirely, taking an extended hiatus, or pivoting to different types of content. This includes creators like Tom Scott, Matthew Patrick (aka MatPat) of The Game Theorists, and Jordan Maron of Captain Sparklez. While they straddle many different niches, they’ve all been wildly successful–many of them have subscriber counts in the millions. But they’ve ultimately decided that it’s time to move on. But what caught my attention was the fact that many of them said they simply didn’t enjoy the act of creating content like they used to. Or in the words of MatPat, “I miss the days where I could just sit down on the couch with her and play video games and it's not for content, or I'm playing a game and I'm not thinking about what theories are gonna come out of that. I miss it.” This hints at an unpalatable truth of life as a creator: no matter how much you enjoy making your content, that doesn’t mean you’ll live happily ever after.
Last month, I talked about how I came up with my personal brand as a specialist blogger. Today, I’ll be talking about what it’s like to live with that decision. Identifying your brand is only the first step in the process. You need to sustain your brand on a day-to-day basis. This can be challenging when we’re constantly bombarded with unfiltered content, from eccentric relatives ranting about fringe political theories to celebrities who seem determined to prove that they have more money than sense. But if you’re looking to make a name for yourself as an authoritative content creator, you’d be well advised to resist the urge to share whatever crosses your mind and stick to the brand you’ve chosen for yourself.
Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of hand-wringing about the effect of ‘cancel culture.’ Hardly a day goes by without some well-known person or company being excoriated for something they’ve done or said, whether it’s Lizzo being condemned for her alleged treatment of her backup dancers or Bud Light being criticized for working with a trans influencer. It’s easy to be angry on the Internet. Whatever your beliefs, you can find plenty of people who seem to stand against everything you hold dear, and it can feel cathartic to share your rage with the world. For creators, this can be an intimidating environment, and it can feel like you have to walk on eggshells to avoid ending up in the digital pillory. But the good news is that it’s possible to be authentic without constantly having to look over your shoulder.
