Ai “creations” are so unnerving, like a product made for profit trying to convince you that it’s art that someone created with intention, and not a sorting algorithm’s best guess of what would get you to spend money.
Thank you for this video though. Recently I’ve come to the unfortunate realization that life as I’m living it doesn’t leave me with the energy it takes to create, and in that realization of course ai has reared its ugly head. It made me realize that even if I can never find the energy to enjoy the creative process and to actually do it, I know that I don’t ever want to be handed the finished product either. It’s a confusing and scary time in a world where everyone tells you that the destination is more important than the journey, that the reward is more important than the work it took to get it. I know that for myself at least, channels like these will always hold more of my attention than the content farms, ai junk, and other products trying to masquerade as art. I hope you don’t lose hope if this is what you really want to do.
Yeah like, even when they look really good, upon finding out it's AI there's a sort of.... mental uncanny valley that it hits for a lot of people. Because now they know a person didn't make it, so it makes the whole thing feel off.
@@tikki2340 Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it, I know for sure this video isn't going to perform very well haha, but I mostly made it as a way to help myself talk through some things that have been eating at me with all this. I'm gonna try to keep making videos though! It's something I wanted to do since like, 2015 or so, I just never had the confidence to start, didn't think I was a good enough artist, or was scared to learn to edit, or wouldn't be able to do good voiceovers. It wasn't until last year that I sorta just said "Screw it, I'm gonna do this" and finally made my first video
I just stumbled across your channel via the inconvenience video and then watched through this one. And let me just say that as college animation and illustration student, I really needed these. thank you. It's nice to know that there are people out there who still care.
Same to you! It's been very heartwarming seeing so many people resonate with my work. Like you said: It's nice to know that there are people out there who still care! Thank you for watching!
AI can never replace the humanity that goes into creation. The feelings, the passion, the memories of the journey before the end result. I’ve never understood people’s desire to just skip to the end and cut out the ‘boring bits’. What good is the destination if there’s nothing good to look back on? There’ll always be a place for authentic creatives, whatever medium they use. To create is to be human, don’t let the machines get you down. Loved seeing your process in that drawing btw, as a beginner seeing other people work is always enjoyable!
It's interesting seeing people generate a childish looking picture, then posting it and saying "AI will never be able to emulate emotions" or whatever, then pulling the "haha gotcha!" card when people assume the image is human made. I think it misses a key point tbh, that it isn't about the end product, the soul doesn't lie in the final visual but in what that visual represents, a part of the journey lying in each stroke. I think that's why so many people see a piece, and upon finding out it's AI, go "oh" and are no longer impressed by it. Because at that point, the perceived soul of the image dies. Man I feel pretentious typing that out lol
@@MecklesFrog It may feel pretentious, but it does have a genuine point. For example, when I go somewhere and try to shop for souvenirs, I insist on buying something that was genuinely made at the place I visited, rather than something that looks good that just happened to be sold in a gift shop there. I started doing this because I realized that there was nothing special about buying a souvenir that said e.g. "London" when it was made in and imported from China and I could order a thousand of the same thing to my doorstep without ever setting foot in London. When people buy an oil painting (for example), they're not buying it for the pure looks, otherwise a printed painting would be more practical to bring over and hang up (and probably cheaper to buy too). They're buying a story that comes with the thing, and the ability to participate in that story.
Thank you! Yeah I put a lot of work into them haha, probably more than I need to but I enjoy it so I think that's what matters! And only time will tell on the growth thing, for now my goal is the big 1K!
This video made me tear up. The way you described babies painting on walls or kindergarteners drawing with crayons was such a good reminder that the creation process IS the fun part. The journey really is better than the destination. Getting caught up in racing toward the final product is something I’ve become too used to. I used to make videos for fun when I was younger, but I lost that passion somewhere along the way. I think in part because I was scared to try and end up with a final product that I’d think wasn’t good enough. Thanks for this.
Yeah, that fear of failure was a big part of why I didn't start making videos sooner! I was worried I'd never be as good as the big popular youtubers, so I just kept putting it aside. But since I started this channel, that journey has been so so worth it lol. Thank you for watching!
I needed to hear this today. Ive been working on a video for the past month and it’s so hard to find the motivation to keep going. It’s easy to lose sight of the goal on a site that prioritizes “growth” and “monetization”. The goal is to create because we enjoy the journey, we enjoy making. AI can never replicate the fun of creation. Stay strong, and thank you for reminding me to stay strong too.
Haha, I needed to hear it too tbh, a big part of the reason I made this at all. It's so easy to get caught up in the negatives, sometimes you gotta remind yourself of why you do something in the first place.
I need to learn how to enjoy the process tbh. If something I wanted to draw doesn't look right the first time around I get really upset, but I need to learn to remind myself I can always just re-do it with the new things I learned from the mistakes of the first take.
Apologies for the late reply, I've gotten so many things get buried haha. But 100%, I've dealt with that a lot myself, and learning to step back and be willing to say "Lets try it again" is something that can be difficult to learn, but once you do it's very rewarding!
just found your channel. I love this video. I think the connection you're not making is that while it's so easy to manufacture content, it only serves to increase the value of true art like these videos. sincerity and passion like this is what I like to see the most in youtube videos, not the youtubers that pump out half baked "content" (hate that fucking word) every week. you definitely earned a sub from me. I'll be looking forward to your stuff, whenever you are able to create it.
Thank you! And you know thats very true. It's easy to look at the "quality" of the stuff AIs can bust out nowadays and be overwhelmed at the idea of how quickly these things can bust stuff out, but what they're making so often is just "content". Just, mindless, meaningless... stuff. Not to say people couldn't/didn't make that before AI gen, it just made it wayyyy easier lol. I myself find that I am much more pulled towards creators that feel like they put time and effort into their works, rather than just like, content farms or top 10 youtubers (tho the spooky ones are a guilty pleasure lol)
I love every part of the creative process of making videos, from writing scripts to recording the audio to making the thumbnail... except for the actual editing process, which is the one thing AI can't do yet.
I understand what you feel completely! I started drawing a long time ago as a hobby and I've wanted to make a lot of things, but it was really difficult for me to learn and I still struggle with it. When AI art happened I felt miserable. Thoughts like "Is it worth it to continue study drawing at all now" or "Maybe drawing is not for you" were in my head constantly. How fast AI grows is scary and some part of me still wishes that AI art was never developed, but I guess I've made some peace with it. I still draw and learn art, I still want to make a comic one day, by hand, even if it's unreasonable to do so at this point in time. The feeling you've described of making something and seeing how it grows a bit at a time until that thing is made - it's amazing and it's absolutely worth it to create your art, no matter how much faster AI is
Yeah! And I know some people defend the process of learning to prompt as being very similar to learning how to draw, or sculpt, but I think the big difference, at least to me, is the level of involvement YOU have. Like, with prompting its more... figuring out how to nudge the machine in the right direction, how to coerce it into making something the "right" way. You don't actually have to like.... sit down and analyze how a rabbit moves to make a "good" rabbit. You just have to figure out the right words to tell the AI. With drawing or any other medium, its you, the individual, that has to put in the time, the work, the effort to learn to represent things better. And that often involves research, or learning from others, things that imo better you as a person. IE, the journey.
This message is a good one I think. I don't really know how to put it to words, but I agree, I believe you and I think you're right. The world is so set on trying to move faster and faster and I think to many people are letting everything around them pass them by, I think people will- do look around and feel lost because they didn't see what was around them. I think you have put the why into words. good words. Hopeful words thank you
Thank you so much! I'm glad that my ramblings about effort and physicality have been well received, because I was pretty worried I just sounded like a crusty old man lmao also sorry for the two week late reply lmao
If it's helpful, just as there are creators who want to put time and effort into their work, there are solid communities of people who want to find creatives who take their time to make something GOOD. Frankly I've been clicking through your videos one after another because I appreciate the sheer amount of editing work and earnestness you've smushed into them, and because the topics you're choosing aren't necessarily popular ones (also because they've made me laugh more than once and your avatar is really cute). The Algorithm is looking for and hoisting up the material that works for it in the short term, but its masters always underestimate how invested viewers can be in a creative ensuring quality over quantity, and the power of slow-built, strongly-woven communities. I think you've got a LOT of potential, my friend, and you've definitely got the kind of soul in your work that makes a guy wanna stick around and see what else you can do. Hang in there!
I have the same thing! It's one of those things you kind of have to just, beat out of yourself lol. Like, accepting that stuff ain't gonna come out perfect, and that "done" is better than any hypothetical perfection.
Videos like these are always a good reminder to never put down the pencil, your instrument or anything you use to create. No matter who sees it or how "good" the end product is in a comparison to the "standard" at the time, it still means something to the creator, and very likely those that choose to experience it. And the human effort that goes into something should never be overlooked. Came here from the inconveniences video, you've earned my sub!
Seeing your little hoodie bee beside normal humans is very... I can't explain it, but it's good. Cute and welcoming. If I saw them on the bus, I'd ask if i could sit by them and ask where they got that hoodie, if the fluffy bit is a part of it or something on them like a beard, etc. Also, first time seeing them full-body! The legs and abdomen look big and soft, even with the abdomen having a stinger. I wonder if they're one of those insects that can "sit" on their abdomen or have it between their legs in front of them instead of behind.
Thank you so much for making this Video :) The difference between your content and content made by people just putting things into ai Programms and shoving them onto the Internet is that we actually want to watch your Videos. We as humans want to seek out people who think like us, feel like us, who share our passions. We dont want to see something no Human had a Real hand in creating. Hard work will eventually pay off, and I can see your channel having a pretty bricht future ahead of it, however it might turn out :) Keep creating, keep adding random explosions and keep havibg fun. Your Videos are awesome and I wish you all the best ❤
Oh man, this was a beautiful watch. Just absolutely beautiful. You really hit it all on the head. ...I'm not going to lie, I thought playing around with AI art was pretty neat. I'm a huge technophile. I never had any intent to use it seriously beyond casual things or silly memes, but over time, I got pretty soured on the concept as the ethics behind it hit me harder. Eventually, I was soured enough on the idea that I just wanted nothing more to do with AI "art". I can't draw. I never was good at that, I always preferred to express my creativity through writing. But even in my case, when you compare AI writing to human writing (or at least my own), there's definitely a bit of an "unnatural" speech to AI. Unless you tweak the hell out of it, and even then, it comes across as stilted and awkward at BEST. I still mess around with AI writing like ChatGPT for silly stuff that I would never claim as my own or to get ideas, but I don't feel like I would be disrespecting writers in the same way. I mean, maybe? I dunno, the ethics around AI are just very questionable right now. I've rambled on a bit, but your point is right. Nothing beats the joy of making something that is *truly* yours, "growth" and "monetization" be damned. What good is it to be a slave to the machine, but lose your soul?
It's a rough world that has a tendency to demand so much of us that even things that should just be passions have to be monetized, to be turned into a method of income just to stay afloat. And I think when passion losses that, when it ceases in the eyes of many to be passion, to be art, creation, etc, and just becomes "product", then the goal shifts from the enjoyment, the journey, of the craft to getting the "product" faster.
Man, I do not have the patience or the passion to animate or even draw like that. I couldn't imagine spending that kind of time for a single frame. Which makes it all the more impressive that you do. I hope to one day make videos with as passion and patience that you do!
Sorry if my English is not perfect, I'm not a native speaker. However, this video has honestly reached me deeper (together with the one you made about the importance of inconvenience) than any other digital media I've seen lately. I love that you make this videos because you love to make them (although you obviously want the channel to grow too) and I hope that you keep the same passion for a long time. I'd also for your channel to blow up, both for the message and specially for you to enjoy it. Just keep making these, and just do them about what you like (you mentioned in one of your videos that you hadn't found your niche yet). And just to let you know, this all comes from a Spanish 24 year old who is currently struggling to see hope in the future of the world (at least the "western" or "global-north" countries). Both the themes on your videos and the approach you have to them are pessimistic and optimistic at the same time, but I find it very soothing to see that people have the same preoccupations as I do, and that despite you see a difficult future, you still focus on the things but why they are and what they take to do, and not only the end product. I probably got a bit lost while writing, but I mainly want to say that I'd love to see you keeping up the good work on these videos (at least while you enjoy it) and I hope that the algorithm will keep posting them on my feed.
The way I like to see it, it's like the scene from Spongebob where he's in a fry cook duel with King Neptune. While it's impressive how quickly AI can make generative content, its sheer quantity can never replace the pure quality of a video made by one human with a ton of heart put into it. Also about that part of feeling like you started too late, _I feel that._ I ALWAYS feel like that because there will always be someone out there who's younger and 10x more successful than me which sometimes makes me question if it was ever a good idea to pick up a pencil in the first place. But I do it anyway because I find enjoyment in bringing my creations... those thoughts in my head to life. Even if it never goes anywhere monetarily, I can at least say that I made something with my own two hands and I can look back on it and appreciate the effort it took to get there. That journey is something that no amount of instant gratification can ever replace.
take a close look at the thumbnail for this video lmaooo TBH I think a big part of that "oh man this guy is so much younger and so much more successful" thing comes out of how competitive much of modern culture is due to the video essay word (capitalism). Competition to make the most income, to simply be able to make enough to survive. It breeds a sort hatred for those who have managed to succeed, and it pushes people to succeed in inauthentic, unkind ways. It breeds a mindset of getting the most by putting in the least while downplaying passion and genuine effort because it's not profitable. And not profitable means its harder to even survive. Its hard to care as much about the passion and the journey when you're struggling just to eat. But in way, that's part of why its so important to allow ourselves to engage with the journey, because otherwise our lives are just work for the sake of survival.
@@MecklesFrog _I... feel... dumb. For not noticing that when I made this comment. :')_ But yeah. I would hate to have to spend my days creating stuff just to make ends meet rather than for the passion of the craft, even though that option isn't always available to us. We still have to try our best each day and make the most of the journey because at the end of the day, that's all we'll have when it's all said and done. So if we're gonna live as creators, _then so help me I will create until my hands give out._
AI can create some good things, but there are things that AI just can't do that require the human touch, and skill, and warmth that only we as people can create. AI is great, but so are we.
AI has a lot of fantastic uses, but at least in its current form, the "instant video/art/music/voice generation" stuff feels pretty much made to push creatives out of work by just stealing their labor without consent and regurgitating it lol also sorry for the two week late reply lmao
@@MecklesFrog Like with any new technology or invention, it all comes down to how we as humans use it. And with anything new there are growing pains, where we learn the good stuff that it can do, but also the bad. And if that invention or technology is exploited in such a way, that it steals from another's work, or causes confusion as to who the real person or creator is, without consent, acknowledgement, approval, and or compensation, then new laws, safeguards, and or regulations need to be created or enacted to protect creators, persons, and or entities, from being exploited and or destroyed by such persons who chose to partake in such unethical endeavors. However, these safeguards and enactments must be implemented in such a way as to not stifle creativity, satires, comedies, future inventions, and or creations, and ect.
I love how this video - simply by existing - is a perfect manifestation of its own thesis. For the last few years, I have been really struggling to come to terms with (or even describe) the overwhelming sense of isolation and alienation that AI content has created. For me, art and creativity have always been one of the chief sources of meaning in the world, and while AI content may look indistinguishable, it feels...just...empty. Watching this video demonstrates why: the value isn't in the end product (the text, sound, or visuals), it is the sense of reaching out across space and time to connect with the thoughts and feelings of another human being. Even if it turns out that the essayist persona is a fiction - just an actor playing a role - there's still someone there on the other side. However, if I learned that it had been generated by an AI algorithm - even if the video was exactly the same, word for word and pixel for pixel - it would lose that meaning, becoming a lifeless sham, like the existential equivalent of serving wax fruit at a restaurant.
I appreciate your sentiment. It's difficult from my perspective in a way I may not be able to explain properly. My friends absolutely despise AI, I basically can't talk about it with them without feeling like I"m going to lose my friends to anything I say. Because I strongly support moving forward with this, and I know many creatives see that as villainous. Then again, I think they all need to get the hell off Twitter and take a moment for themselves. There's a lot of potential for it to concentrate wealth, for it to go crazy and destroy us all or something. But I don't think we're going to let that happen. I see a very different possible outcome, one where we become free from many of the burdens that have crippled humanity for so long. As you say, many people create because they enjoy it. But I think there are many more people who want to create, but are so consumed with trying to get by in the moment, making sure that what they do turns a profit, that they can no longer see themselves. Most of us are wasting our lives, in fast food places, in warehouses, in banks juggling money, and I think that when machines can do those jobs we can move on and have time to actually look at what we want to be. I find I'm too inconsistent to have a singular passion that makes me a fat stack of cash. I'm not threatened by AI because I'm threatened by the status quo. Warhammer models, clay sculptures, resin encased bugs, simple games programmed, terrible writing, amateur voice acting, competitive gaming, I flit between projects on a whim never to be a master of anything. And that could be seen as a problem, a lack of dedication and conviction. But why am I pressured to focus everything into a singular medium and become specialized and create a masterpieces? Not for my enjoyment, but because the story is that I need to create for other people, that I need to be better than everyone else in order to have any meaning. I don't like that story, and quite frankly I feel like people are feeling in the face of AI what I have been feeling all along. I am trying to write a story, something that speaks what I feel on this topic. While I may be able to output something faster if I used AI, the point is that this particular one is meant to be MY story, MY expression, so I am doing it myself. On the other hand I've used AI to generate other stories where the point was to entertain me. I think that's like how driving a car to get to a destination is one thing, but hiking or walking through an antique shop are completely different. It's ok for some things to be about the destination, and it's ok for some things to be about enjoying the journey itself. One can be capable of both. There's no reason that AI should rob humans of their humanity just because it poses to be more effective at work. I think quite the opposite. It's not right to think humans are only worth what they can produce for others.
I think the issue is, as you stated below, the system in which we live right now. It rewards selfishness, it rewards behavior that ruins lives so long as it generates profits. I think so long as we live in such a system, then we won't see many, if any at all, real positive uses out of this tech. Because the sole driving force behind most companies, and these AI projects are run by companies, is profit. And if there's more profit to be made in scraping artists lives and work and pumping it into a reproduction machine, or screwing over a QA department by replacing them with AI than there is in using AI to better medical technology or make the general publics lives easier, then that's where the tech is going to go. It will follow the money. Maybe it will be a catalyst. But if that's the case, I think it will only be after things get so bad, that so many people lose their jobs to AI that these businesses barely even have a customer base, that it requires even those at the very top to rethink the way they run things, and personally I don't see that happening.
Feel ya man, Im an otter with 12 years experience in AAA games as a technical artist, barely survived yet another huge layoff. Never felt more precarious in my position. Just a few years ago I felt like I was primed to make a huge jump forward in my career into leadership, that tech art work, especially programming side could only increase in demand with the size of games. Instead I look around and seems like you have to be capable of everything at top tier to get even a look anymore. I knew that was the awful reality for artists and designers, but it's climbing it's way up to TAs and inevitably SEs. They want everyone to be able to do more so they can hire less, and are willing to accept drops in quality to get there. Sort of like the shrinkflation of games, less game content, less polish, less development overhead, heavier monetization and steeper retail pricing. I felt cavalier about the advancement of AI, but I get it now.
I consider that a problem of our economic system much more than a problem with AI. It has warped everything. AI appears to me as a catalyst toward a change. Hopefully the people don't let their voice be silenced, when it comes to whether that change is beneficial to all or only a few.
Yeah, it feels to me like nobody is really safe from the chopping block. If cutting a job can save a company money, and that job can be done by an AI, I don't think people with that job are safe, no matter how long they've been with the company or whatever. (Also sorry if you get two replies from me with the same general message, I swore i hit send but I didn't see my response so I typed out another lol)
I don't think an AI would ever be able to recreate or even articulate a video like this. There is emotion and passion. Something i get very little of in my hyper optimized "stay on the platform for as long as possible" AI video feed. It's all so empty and emotionless
I really have to say a few things since I have been doing RUclips content creation. I hate the divide there is between shorts viewers and normal video viewers, I’ve gotten 1,000’s of views total for my shorts and my normal videos that I’m doing get 41 views maximum. I would guess it’s brain rot that caused such a divide, but I hate this divide. AI is soulless. My favorite musician “Elliott Smith” said something about how he doesn’t do his music for money or fame, it’s fun, it’s satisfactory to see the finished product you made with your hands and how it’s really done for yourself, not for the pursuit of material goods or a higher standing in society. Sorry, I just had to let that go.
Yeah I think the "it shouldn't" is more poignant there haha. Because as far as many are concerned it IS doing it better. Kind of leans into that classic "Your Scientists Were So Preoccupied With Whether Or Not They Could, They Didn’t Stop To Think If They Should" lol
If becoming so skilled at AI can only take a few weeks, then it isn't a skill. I found your video on inconveniences and like it a lot. I find myself very overwhelmed with how much entertainment that is out there, so I am going back to inconveniences and doing things that don't bring instant gratification.
I also want to add idk if you listen to Rick Rubin at all but he has a quote about just making art to make art not for any kind of expected kind of outcome or fame. You sorta say the same thing in this video and I love that.
It's fascinating that having an near endless list of choices in and of itself becomes an inconvenience that needs to be dealt with by having things like Algorithms to pick and choose what they think we'll prefer! Also sorry for the week late reply lol
I try to start a new channel, or better say THREE channels, because i decided to dub each video in 3 languages, which is EXTREMELY HARD to do, and i've already burnt out like 85 times, and don't want to continue anymore (or exist). It's a videogame review, which i'm trying to make since 2021, and i can't see the end of this project. And it's not supposed to be about one video, it should be a whole channel of reviews, which i can't start, because the first video isn't done yet. Well, one language version is actually finished since april, and it's 37 minutes long. But the english version and the other language version are not even close to being done. The english one is the hardest so far - i have no experience speaking it outloud (not to mention i don't speak any language since 2013, because i literally have no one to talk to, so i even forgot how to use my mouth properly), where each minute of material takes at least a whole hour of recording and takes and editing. And the worst thing - i can't record on a daily basis, since i'm not living in my apartment (never had my own), and i don't want anyone to hear me (not to mention they make a lot of noise, and pretty much are against anything i try to do). So i have like 2 hours once a week (or month, or two, or four) of recording, which gives me just 2 minutes of of not-so-good matetial (at best). So i don't know if i would ever going to finish it or release it. And the thought that i will have to go through this with EVERY next video seems just impossible.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Ai “creations” are so unnerving, like a product made for profit trying to convince you that it’s art that someone created with intention, and not a sorting algorithm’s best guess of what would get you to spend money.
Thank you for this video though. Recently I’ve come to the unfortunate realization that life as I’m living it doesn’t leave me with the energy it takes to create, and in that realization of course ai has reared its ugly head. It made me realize that even if I can never find the energy to enjoy the creative process and to actually do it, I know that I don’t ever want to be handed the finished product either. It’s a confusing and scary time in a world where everyone tells you that the destination is more important than the journey, that the reward is more important than the work it took to get it. I know that for myself at least, channels like these will always hold more of my attention than the content farms, ai junk, and other products trying to masquerade as art. I hope you don’t lose hope if this is what you really want to do.
Yeah like, even when they look really good, upon finding out it's AI there's a sort of.... mental uncanny valley that it hits for a lot of people. Because now they know a person didn't make it, so it makes the whole thing feel off.
@@tikki2340 Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it, I know for sure this video isn't going to perform very well haha, but I mostly made it as a way to help myself talk through some things that have been eating at me with all this.
I'm gonna try to keep making videos though! It's something I wanted to do since like, 2015 or so, I just never had the confidence to start, didn't think I was a good enough artist, or was scared to learn to edit, or wouldn't be able to do good voiceovers. It wasn't until last year that I sorta just said "Screw it, I'm gonna do this" and finally made my first video
I just stumbled across your channel via the inconvenience video and then watched through this one. And let me just say that as college animation and illustration student, I really needed these. thank you. It's nice to know that there are people out there who still care.
Same to you! It's been very heartwarming seeing so many people resonate with my work. Like you said: It's nice to know that there are people out there who still care!
Thank you for watching!
AI can never replace the humanity that goes into creation. The feelings, the passion, the memories of the journey before the end result. I’ve never understood people’s desire to just skip to the end and cut out the ‘boring bits’. What good is the destination if there’s nothing good to look back on?
There’ll always be a place for authentic creatives, whatever medium they use. To create is to be human, don’t let the machines get you down.
Loved seeing your process in that drawing btw, as a beginner seeing other people work is always enjoyable!
It's interesting seeing people generate a childish looking picture, then posting it and saying "AI will never be able to emulate emotions" or whatever, then pulling the "haha gotcha!" card when people assume the image is human made. I think it misses a key point tbh, that it isn't about the end product, the soul doesn't lie in the final visual but in what that visual represents, a part of the journey lying in each stroke. I think that's why so many people see a piece, and upon finding out it's AI, go "oh" and are no longer impressed by it. Because at that point, the perceived soul of the image dies.
Man I feel pretentious typing that out lol
@@MecklesFrog It may feel pretentious, but it does have a genuine point. For example, when I go somewhere and try to shop for souvenirs, I insist on buying something that was genuinely made at the place I visited, rather than something that looks good that just happened to be sold in a gift shop there. I started doing this because I realized that there was nothing special about buying a souvenir that said e.g. "London" when it was made in and imported from China and I could order a thousand of the same thing to my doorstep without ever setting foot in London.
When people buy an oil painting (for example), they're not buying it for the pure looks, otherwise a printed painting would be more practical to bring over and hang up (and probably cheaper to buy too). They're buying a story that comes with the thing, and the ability to participate in that story.
AI will never gives the feeling of creating something. Also I love your videos.
Thank you so much!
I've watched a few of your vids, and they all seem really well made. Keep working, dude. I'm positive your channel will grow. 👍👍
Thank you! Yeah I put a lot of work into them haha, probably more than I need to but I enjoy it so I think that's what matters! And only time will tell on the growth thing, for now my goal is the big 1K!
Please continue making your videos. I love how *human* it is. I’ll be coming back for more, friend :)
Apologies for the week late reply! But thank you so much!
This video made me tear up. The way you described babies painting on walls or kindergarteners drawing with crayons was such a good reminder that the creation process IS the fun part. The journey really is better than the destination. Getting caught up in racing toward the final product is something I’ve become too used to.
I used to make videos for fun when I was younger, but I lost that passion somewhere along the way. I think in part because I was scared to try and end up with a final product that I’d think wasn’t good enough. Thanks for this.
Yeah, that fear of failure was a big part of why I didn't start making videos sooner! I was worried I'd never be as good as the big popular youtubers, so I just kept putting it aside. But since I started this channel, that journey has been so so worth it lol.
Thank you for watching!
I needed to hear this today. Ive been working on a video for the past month and it’s so hard to find the motivation to keep going. It’s easy to lose sight of the goal on a site that prioritizes “growth” and “monetization”. The goal is to create because we enjoy the journey, we enjoy making. AI can never replicate the fun of creation. Stay strong, and thank you for reminding me to stay strong too.
Haha, I needed to hear it too tbh, a big part of the reason I made this at all. It's so easy to get caught up in the negatives, sometimes you gotta remind yourself of why you do something in the first place.
I need to learn how to enjoy the process tbh. If something I wanted to draw doesn't look right the first time around I get really upset, but I need to learn to remind myself I can always just re-do it with the new things I learned from the mistakes of the first take.
Apologies for the late reply, I've gotten so many things get buried haha. But 100%, I've dealt with that a lot myself, and learning to step back and be willing to say "Lets try it again" is something that can be difficult to learn, but once you do it's very rewarding!
just found your channel. I love this video. I think the connection you're not making is that while it's so easy to manufacture content, it only serves to increase the value of true art like these videos. sincerity and passion like this is what I like to see the most in youtube videos, not the youtubers that pump out half baked "content" (hate that fucking word) every week.
you definitely earned a sub from me. I'll be looking forward to your stuff, whenever you are able to create it.
Thank you! And you know thats very true. It's easy to look at the "quality" of the stuff AIs can bust out nowadays and be overwhelmed at the idea of how quickly these things can bust stuff out, but what they're making so often is just "content". Just, mindless, meaningless... stuff. Not to say people couldn't/didn't make that before AI gen, it just made it wayyyy easier lol.
I myself find that I am much more pulled towards creators that feel like they put time and effort into their works, rather than just like, content farms or top 10 youtubers (tho the spooky ones are a guilty pleasure lol)
I love every part of the creative process of making videos, from writing scripts to recording the audio to making the thumbnail... except for the actual editing process, which is the one thing AI can't do yet.
I understand what you feel completely!
I started drawing a long time ago as a hobby and I've wanted to make a lot of things, but it was really difficult for me to learn and I still struggle with it. When AI art happened I felt miserable. Thoughts like "Is it worth it to continue study drawing at all now" or "Maybe drawing is not for you" were in my head constantly. How fast AI grows is scary and some part of me still wishes that AI art was never developed, but I guess I've made some peace with it. I still draw and learn art, I still want to make a comic one day, by hand, even if it's unreasonable to do so at this point in time. The feeling you've described of making something and seeing how it grows a bit at a time until that thing is made - it's amazing and it's absolutely worth it to create your art, no matter how much faster AI is
Yeah! And I know some people defend the process of learning to prompt as being very similar to learning how to draw, or sculpt, but I think the big difference, at least to me, is the level of involvement YOU have. Like, with prompting its more... figuring out how to nudge the machine in the right direction, how to coerce it into making something the "right" way. You don't actually have to like.... sit down and analyze how a rabbit moves to make a "good" rabbit. You just have to figure out the right words to tell the AI.
With drawing or any other medium, its you, the individual, that has to put in the time, the work, the effort to learn to represent things better. And that often involves research, or learning from others, things that imo better you as a person. IE, the journey.
This message is a good one I think. I don't really know how to put it to words, but I agree, I believe you and I think you're right. The world is so set on trying to move faster and faster and I think to many people are letting everything around them pass them by, I think people will- do look around and feel lost because they didn't see what was around them. I think you have put the why into words. good words. Hopeful words
thank you
Thank you so much! I'm glad that my ramblings about effort and physicality have been well received, because I was pretty worried I just sounded like a crusty old man lmao
also sorry for the two week late reply lmao
If it's helpful, just as there are creators who want to put time and effort into their work, there are solid communities of people who want to find creatives who take their time to make something GOOD. Frankly I've been clicking through your videos one after another because I appreciate the sheer amount of editing work and earnestness you've smushed into them, and because the topics you're choosing aren't necessarily popular ones (also because they've made me laugh more than once and your avatar is really cute). The Algorithm is looking for and hoisting up the material that works for it in the short term, but its masters always underestimate how invested viewers can be in a creative ensuring quality over quantity, and the power of slow-built, strongly-woven communities. I think you've got a LOT of potential, my friend, and you've definitely got the kind of soul in your work that makes a guy wanna stick around and see what else you can do. Hang in there!
Apologies (again lol) for the week late reply BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH
I wish I could enjoy the process, but my overthinking and perfectionist attitude makes it difficult.
I have the same thing! It's one of those things you kind of have to just, beat out of yourself lol. Like, accepting that stuff ain't gonna come out perfect, and that "done" is better than any hypothetical perfection.
@@MecklesFrog I appreciate it ^^
Two things I remember when trying to create: "Perfect is the enemy of good." and "Any stuff you made is great because you made stuff."
this video was lovely. thank you for making it
Thank you for watching it!
Videos like these are always a good reminder to never put down the pencil, your instrument or anything you use to create. No matter who sees it or how "good" the end product is in a comparison to the "standard" at the time, it still means something to the creator, and very likely those that choose to experience it. And the human effort that goes into something should never be overlooked.
Came here from the inconveniences video, you've earned my sub!
Seeing your little hoodie bee beside normal humans is very... I can't explain it, but it's good. Cute and welcoming. If I saw them on the bus, I'd ask if i could sit by them and ask where they got that hoodie, if the fluffy bit is a part of it or something on them like a beard, etc. Also, first time seeing them full-body! The legs and abdomen look big and soft, even with the abdomen having a stinger. I wonder if they're one of those insects that can "sit" on their abdomen or have it between their legs in front of them instead of behind.
He doesn't make a lot so he probably got the hoodie at walmart
@@MecklesFrog What did he wear before that? Also, where did he get the (kind of sentient) hat?
@@creechieuihana what hat
@@MecklesFrog is that frog a PART OF YOU!?
@@creechieuihana what frog
Thank you so much for making this Video :)
The difference between your content and content made by people just putting things into ai Programms and shoving them onto the Internet is that we actually want to watch your Videos. We as humans want to seek out people who think like us, feel like us, who share our passions. We dont want to see something no Human had a Real hand in creating. Hard work will eventually pay off, and I can see your channel having a pretty bricht future ahead of it, however it might turn out :)
Keep creating, keep adding random explosions and keep havibg fun. Your Videos are awesome and I wish you all the best ❤
Haha, thank you so much! And don't worry, there will be plenty more explosions lol!
This video brought me a sense of inner peace. Thank you
Oh man, this was a beautiful watch. Just absolutely beautiful. You really hit it all on the head.
...I'm not going to lie, I thought playing around with AI art was pretty neat. I'm a huge technophile. I never had any intent to use it seriously beyond casual things or silly memes, but over time, I got pretty soured on the concept as the ethics behind it hit me harder. Eventually, I was soured enough on the idea that I just wanted nothing more to do with AI "art".
I can't draw. I never was good at that, I always preferred to express my creativity through writing. But even in my case, when you compare AI writing to human writing (or at least my own), there's definitely a bit of an "unnatural" speech to AI. Unless you tweak the hell out of it, and even then, it comes across as stilted and awkward at BEST. I still mess around with AI writing like ChatGPT for silly stuff that I would never claim as my own or to get ideas, but I don't feel like I would be disrespecting writers in the same way. I mean, maybe? I dunno, the ethics around AI are just very questionable right now.
I've rambled on a bit, but your point is right. Nothing beats the joy of making something that is *truly* yours, "growth" and "monetization" be damned. What good is it to be a slave to the machine, but lose your soul?
It's a rough world that has a tendency to demand so much of us that even things that should just be passions have to be monetized, to be turned into a method of income just to stay afloat. And I think when passion losses that, when it ceases in the eyes of many to be passion, to be art, creation, etc, and just becomes "product", then the goal shifts from the enjoyment, the journey, of the craft to getting the "product" faster.
Man, I do not have the patience or the passion to animate or even draw like that. I couldn't imagine spending that kind of time for a single frame. Which makes it all the more impressive that you do. I hope to one day make videos with as passion and patience that you do!
Sorry if my English is not perfect, I'm not a native speaker. However, this video has honestly reached me deeper (together with the one you made about the importance of inconvenience) than any other digital media I've seen lately.
I love that you make this videos because you love to make them (although you obviously want the channel to grow too) and I hope that you keep the same passion for a long time. I'd also for your channel to blow up, both for the message and specially for you to enjoy it.
Just keep making these, and just do them about what you like (you mentioned in one of your videos that you hadn't found your niche yet).
And just to let you know, this all comes from a Spanish 24 year old who is currently struggling to see hope in the future of the world (at least the "western" or "global-north" countries).
Both the themes on your videos and the approach you have to them are pessimistic and optimistic at the same time, but I find it very soothing to see that people have the same preoccupations as I do, and that despite you see a difficult future, you still focus on the things but why they are and what they take to do, and not only the end product.
I probably got a bit lost while writing, but I mainly want to say that I'd love to see you keeping up the good work on these videos (at least while you enjoy it) and I hope that the algorithm will keep posting them on my feed.
The way I like to see it, it's like the scene from Spongebob where he's in a fry cook duel with King Neptune. While it's impressive how quickly AI can make generative content, its sheer quantity can never replace the pure quality of a video made by one human with a ton of heart put into it.
Also about that part of feeling like you started too late, _I feel that._ I ALWAYS feel like that because there will always be someone out there who's younger and 10x more successful than me which sometimes makes me question if it was ever a good idea to pick up a pencil in the first place. But I do it anyway because I find enjoyment in bringing my creations... those thoughts in my head to life. Even if it never goes anywhere monetarily, I can at least say that I made something with my own two hands and I can look back on it and appreciate the effort it took to get there.
That journey is something that no amount of instant gratification can ever replace.
take a close look at the thumbnail for this video lmaooo
TBH I think a big part of that "oh man this guy is so much younger and so much more successful" thing comes out of how competitive much of modern culture is due to the video essay word (capitalism). Competition to make the most income, to simply be able to make enough to survive. It breeds a sort hatred for those who have managed to succeed, and it pushes people to succeed in inauthentic, unkind ways. It breeds a mindset of getting the most by putting in the least while downplaying passion and genuine effort because it's not profitable. And not profitable means its harder to even survive.
Its hard to care as much about the passion and the journey when you're struggling just to eat. But in way, that's part of why its so important to allow ourselves to engage with the journey, because otherwise our lives are just work for the sake of survival.
@@MecklesFrog _I... feel... dumb. For not noticing that when I made this comment. :')_
But yeah. I would hate to have to spend my days creating stuff just to make ends meet rather than for the passion of the craft, even though that option isn't always available to us. We still have to try our best each day and make the most of the journey because at the end of the day, that's all we'll have when it's all said and done. So if we're gonna live as creators, _then so help me I will create until my hands give out._
i loved this so much, keep making videos man
Thanks so much! I actually have one in the works now, it's just taking longer than I expected haha. Such is the way of art lol
i need more people to see this video
be the change u want to see in the world
AI can create some good things, but there are things that AI just can't do that require the human touch, and skill, and warmth that only we as people can create. AI is great, but so are we.
AI has a lot of fantastic uses, but at least in its current form, the "instant video/art/music/voice generation" stuff feels pretty much made to push creatives out of work by just stealing their labor without consent and regurgitating it lol
also sorry for the two week late reply lmao
@@MecklesFrog Like with any new technology or invention, it all comes down to how we as humans use it. And with anything new there are growing pains, where we learn the good stuff that it can do, but also the bad. And if that invention or technology is exploited in such a way, that it steals from another's work, or causes confusion as to who the real person or creator is, without consent, acknowledgement, approval, and or compensation, then new laws, safeguards, and or regulations need to be created or enacted to protect creators, persons, and or entities, from being exploited and or destroyed by such persons who chose to partake in such unethical endeavors. However, these safeguards and enactments must be implemented in such a way as to not stifle creativity, satires, comedies, future inventions, and or creations, and ect.
I love how this video - simply by existing - is a perfect manifestation of its own thesis. For the last few years, I have been really struggling to come to terms with (or even describe) the overwhelming sense of isolation and alienation that AI content has created. For me, art and creativity have always been one of the chief sources of meaning in the world, and while AI content may look indistinguishable, it feels...just...empty. Watching this video demonstrates why: the value isn't in the end product (the text, sound, or visuals), it is the sense of reaching out across space and time to connect with the thoughts and feelings of another human being. Even if it turns out that the essayist persona is a fiction - just an actor playing a role - there's still someone there on the other side. However, if I learned that it had been generated by an AI algorithm - even if the video was exactly the same, word for word and pixel for pixel - it would lose that meaning, becoming a lifeless sham, like the existential equivalent of serving wax fruit at a restaurant.
Frug video good. Suppord
thank u friend
I appreciate your sentiment.
It's difficult from my perspective in a way I may not be able to explain properly.
My friends absolutely despise AI, I basically can't talk about it with them without feeling like I"m going to lose my friends to anything I say.
Because I strongly support moving forward with this, and I know many creatives see that as villainous.
Then again, I think they all need to get the hell off Twitter and take a moment for themselves.
There's a lot of potential for it to concentrate wealth, for it to go crazy and destroy us all or something.
But I don't think we're going to let that happen.
I see a very different possible outcome, one where we become free from many of the burdens that have crippled humanity for so long.
As you say, many people create because they enjoy it. But I think there are many more people who want to create, but are so consumed with trying to get by in the moment, making sure that what they do turns a profit, that they can no longer see themselves. Most of us are wasting our lives, in fast food places, in warehouses, in banks juggling money, and I think that when machines can do those jobs we can move on and have time to actually look at what we want to be.
I find I'm too inconsistent to have a singular passion that makes me a fat stack of cash.
I'm not threatened by AI because I'm threatened by the status quo.
Warhammer models, clay sculptures, resin encased bugs, simple games programmed, terrible writing, amateur voice acting, competitive gaming, I flit between projects on a whim never to be a master of anything.
And that could be seen as a problem, a lack of dedication and conviction.
But why am I pressured to focus everything into a singular medium and become specialized and create a masterpieces? Not for my enjoyment, but because the story is that I need to create for other people, that I need to be better than everyone else in order to have any meaning.
I don't like that story, and quite frankly I feel like people are feeling in the face of AI what I have been feeling all along.
I am trying to write a story, something that speaks what I feel on this topic.
While I may be able to output something faster if I used AI, the point is that this particular one is meant to be MY story, MY expression, so I am doing it myself.
On the other hand I've used AI to generate other stories where the point was to entertain me.
I think that's like how driving a car to get to a destination is one thing, but hiking or walking through an antique shop are completely different.
It's ok for some things to be about the destination, and it's ok for some things to be about enjoying the journey itself.
One can be capable of both.
There's no reason that AI should rob humans of their humanity just because it poses to be more effective at work.
I think quite the opposite.
It's not right to think humans are only worth what they can produce for others.
I think the issue is, as you stated below, the system in which we live right now. It rewards selfishness, it rewards behavior that ruins lives so long as it generates profits. I think so long as we live in such a system, then we won't see many, if any at all, real positive uses out of this tech. Because the sole driving force behind most companies, and these AI projects are run by companies, is profit. And if there's more profit to be made in scraping artists lives and work and pumping it into a reproduction machine, or screwing over a QA department by replacing them with AI than there is in using AI to better medical technology or make the general publics lives easier, then that's where the tech is going to go. It will follow the money.
Maybe it will be a catalyst. But if that's the case, I think it will only be after things get so bad, that so many people lose their jobs to AI that these businesses barely even have a customer base, that it requires even those at the very top to rethink the way they run things, and personally I don't see that happening.
Feel ya man, Im an otter with 12 years experience in AAA games as a technical artist, barely survived yet another huge layoff. Never felt more precarious in my position. Just a few years ago I felt like I was primed to make a huge jump forward in my career into leadership, that tech art work, especially programming side could only increase in demand with the size of games. Instead I look around and seems like you have to be capable of everything at top tier to get even a look anymore. I knew that was the awful reality for artists and designers, but it's climbing it's way up to TAs and inevitably SEs. They want everyone to be able to do more so they can hire less, and are willing to accept drops in quality to get there.
Sort of like the shrinkflation of games, less game content, less polish, less development overhead, heavier monetization and steeper retail pricing. I felt cavalier about the advancement of AI, but I get it now.
I consider that a problem of our economic system much more than a problem with AI.
It has warped everything.
AI appears to me as a catalyst toward a change.
Hopefully the people don't let their voice be silenced, when it comes to whether that change is beneficial to all or only a few.
Yeah, it feels to me like nobody is really safe from the chopping block. If cutting a job can save a company money, and that job can be done by an AI, I don't think people with that job are safe, no matter how long they've been with the company or whatever. (Also sorry if you get two replies from me with the same general message, I swore i hit send but I didn't see my response so I typed out another lol)
I don't think an AI would ever be able to recreate or even articulate a video like this. There is emotion and passion. Something i get very little of in my hyper optimized "stay on the platform for as long as possible" AI video feed. It's all so empty and emotionless
I really have to say a few things since I have been doing RUclips content creation. I hate the divide there is between shorts viewers and normal video viewers, I’ve gotten 1,000’s of views total for my shorts and my normal videos that I’m doing get 41 views maximum. I would guess it’s brain rot that caused such a divide, but I hate this divide. AI is soulless. My favorite musician “Elliott Smith” said something about how he doesn’t do his music for money or fame, it’s fun, it’s satisfactory to see the finished product you made with your hands and how it’s really done for yourself, not for the pursuit of material goods or a higher standing in society. Sorry, I just had to let that go.
Engagement
Hopefully this AI crap doesn't get as far as some people are saying. AI cannot do it better, it shouldn't.
Regardless, hang in there, hun.
Yeah I think the "it shouldn't" is more poignant there haha. Because as far as many are concerned it IS doing it better. Kind of leans into that classic "Your Scientists Were So Preoccupied With Whether Or Not They Could, They Didn’t Stop To Think If They Should" lol
Why do you say that?
@@kamikeserpentail3778 Because art is a human thing that comes from the heart and soul, things that a computer program doesn't have or understand.
If becoming so skilled at AI can only take a few weeks, then it isn't a skill. I found your video on inconveniences and like it a lot. I find myself very overwhelmed with how much entertainment that is out there, so I am going back to inconveniences and doing things that don't bring instant gratification.
I also want to add idk if you listen to Rick Rubin at all but he has a quote about just making art to make art not for any kind of expected kind of outcome or fame. You sorta say the same thing in this video and I love that.
It's fascinating that having an near endless list of choices in and of itself becomes an inconvenience that needs to be dealt with by having things like Algorithms to pick and choose what they think we'll prefer!
Also sorry for the week late reply lol
I try to start a new channel, or better say THREE channels, because i decided to dub each video in 3 languages, which is EXTREMELY HARD to do, and i've already burnt out like 85 times, and don't want to continue anymore (or exist).
It's a videogame review, which i'm trying to make since 2021, and i can't see the end of this project. And it's not supposed to be about one video, it should be a whole channel of reviews, which i can't start, because the first video isn't done yet. Well, one language version is actually finished since april, and it's 37 minutes long. But the english version and the other language version are not even close to being done. The english one is the hardest so far - i have no experience speaking it outloud (not to mention i don't speak any language since 2013, because i literally have no one to talk to, so i even forgot how to use my mouth properly), where each minute of material takes at least a whole hour of recording and takes and editing. And the worst thing - i can't record on a daily basis, since i'm not living in my apartment (never had my own), and i don't want anyone to hear me (not to mention they make a lot of noise, and pretty much are against anything i try to do). So i have like 2 hours once a week (or month, or two, or four) of recording, which gives me just 2 minutes of of not-so-good matetial (at best).
So i don't know if i would ever going to finish it or release it.
And the thought that i will have to go through this with EVERY next video seems just impossible.