Could AI get so bad it's actually good for creatives?
How fake users and content could drive people off platforms and into the arms of artists + 5 ways to be more pro-human in 2025!
I have admitted before that I am a far-too-frequent user of LinkedIn but with good reason. It has, genuinely, raised my profile and that of my various businesses over the years and brought me work doing what I'm good at and enjoy. I am as close to a fan-boy as LinkedIn could hope for and yet, have you been on there lately? It is a sewer of AI slop!
From the Generally Platitudinous Tripe of status updates and flurry of fake AI imagery to the self-styled "innovators" and "disruptors" who take it upon themselves to post creepy, nonsensical AI videos so they can hail the death of Hollywood. LinkedIn is a bin fire...and now Meta wants in on the act.
Yes, last week FT broke the news that the company that named itself after it's own biggest failure intends to fill its platforms with AI accounts churning out slop on a one-to-one basis.
For the love of all that is good and holy, WHY? Obviously I don't expect an honest answer from them but my Spidey-senses tell me it might have something to do with selling more ad impressions 😏
“We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do… They’ll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform … That’s where we see all of this going.”
Connor Hayes, VP of Product for Generative AI, Meta
Throughout 2022 Facebook use was in decline and yet, by the end of 2023, they were touting over 3 billion users - the year after AI went mainstream. Curious, no? Well, in April last year Meta announced it would no longer be reporting on the number of active daily or monthly users it had by platform but instead would switch to a new metric called “family daily active people”, which refers to “registered and logged-in users of one or more of Facebook’s Family products who visited at least one of these products on a particular day.” Three billion “daily active people” across Meta’s “family” combines WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Oculus, and Threads. So what’s the true number here?
For a deep dive on this you MUST read Ed Zitron’s forensic, yet entertaining, report at https://www.wheresyoured.at/were-watching-facebook-die/ and subscribe to his free newsletter too.
AI bots a.k.a. fake profiles can generate almost unlimited amounts of artificial engagement and impressions to sell to advertisers that either don't know or don't care where their ads are shown (and there's plenty of evidence for both positions).
This, by the way, comes on top of recent revelations that Spotify is filling it’s platform with so much AI slop that it will take up to 24% of artist revenue away by 2028, which may be the reason so many music fans are finding their way back to vinyl, tapes and now CDs, which guarantee the humanity of the artists!
Cinephiles too are getting tired of hunting around platforms for anything actually worth watching but only finding stuff that wasn't good enough to see at the cinema or buy on DVD/Blu-Ray hence we are seeing tentative early signs of a resurgence in sales of physical film formats, much as we did with vinyl, even if it’s only amongst devotees.
They’re killing the goose that lays the golden eggs
For reasons that seem absurd to me the owners of social/media platforms seem determined to degrade their own products by filling them with weird, cheap and nasty AI content but there is an upside because the worse their products become the less reason we'll have to engage with them and the more people will be driven back to formats that pay creators and, indeed, the whole creative value chain.
Jonathan Haidt is, rightfully, concerned about how we get children off smartphones but if things continue on their current trajectory, we might not need to. My nine-year-old daughter has already voluntarily swapped surreal YouTube slop for properly produced TV shows and I even caught her reading for fun the other day! I believe her brain is responding to a craving for character, story and craft not just death by a thousand jump cuts.
As platforms become more and more polluted with AI slop real humans with real stories and passions, knowledge and opinions, talents and flaws will take centre stage as we slowly grow immune to this crap and respond to our own craving for character, story and craft, but why wait until then? Start now. Here's five ways you can save your brain, sate your cravings and behave in a wholly pro-human way in 2025 - happy new year!
Build a physical media collection
This whole post was actually inspired by a Note from Andrew O'Donovan, below.
He’s right! Buy a second hand CD/DVD player and start exploring charity shops, boot sales and second-hand record stores for bargains and surprises that you can pay for once, keep forever and play without the need for WiFi, data or passwords.
Join your local library
Wanna try before you buy? Join your local library, which likely has more than books but also CDs and DVDs of all those classic films you can't actually get via your streaming service. In Singapore the National Library's ‘Libby’ app is free and enables you to borrow any book or audiobook in the country as well as read internationally published magazines. However, I always recommend visiting in person for the same reason that Kurt Vonnegut gave to his wife when she suggested he buy envelopes online:
“Oh, she says well, you're not a poor man. You know, why don't you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I'm going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don't know…
And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don't realize, or they don't care, is we're dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And, we're not supposed to dance at all anymore.”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Author
Explore your neighbourhood
My computer broke on Christmas Eve-eve, I got the dreaded blue screen of death! I was fuming and went for a walk to calm down whereupon I stumbled across a small shop front in a rarely visited part of my neighbourhood that specialises in computer repairs. I stopped in and met Adam who helped calm me down and asked me to bring him my computer, which I did and which he fixed within 24 hours. When I went to collect the machine he told me he could only accept cash and I was a bit short but he told me not to worry but to bring it by when I could. This is called being a good neighbour, I need to meet more of them and so should you.
Go see a local band or comic or play
Almost every show in London at the moment is upwards of £150 a ticket and based on a movie that you've already seen (I suspect similar is true elsewhere). Instead of complaining about the prices, take that £150 and go see 10 local bands or 5 local theatre productions instead. You'll get 5-10 times as many nights out, you'll see something new, you'll be amazed at the quality AND all your friends will think you're really hip.
Volunteer
I am not a patient man, I should not be working with the intellectually or educationally challenged. I hate cooking, therefore I should also not be attempting to feed anyone from my own hands no matter how hungry. But I do have something to offer, which is why this year I have volunteered via NTUC Mentorship Programmes to mentor to young creatives from less affluent backgrounds as they embark on their careers, as well as campaign for The Actor's Society. Not only do I connect better with these causes but they make the most of my particular talent and experience too. In Singapore Talent Trust is a charity that connects professionals to causes that need their specific skills so why not make a resolution to trust your talent to them this year?
Recommendations
One thing I look forward to at the end/start of every year is the annual compilation from indie ambient label A Strangely Isolated Place Substack which I am listening to now and it is sublime! Try it free on Bandcamp then purchase from as little as $1 or whatever you want to give (I paid a dollar per track).
Singapore Art Week starts 17th January with tons of events and exhibitions, panels and performances throughout the island. I am particularly looking forward to Art.sg at Marina Bay Sands, which “launched in 2023 and features a stellar line-up of international and regional art galleries alongside a curated program of large-scale installations, experimental film and moving image, thought-provoking panel discussions and performances.”
To prove that LinkedIn still has utility I shall recommend reading this post by academic Philippa Penfold entitled: AI Has a Negative Impact on Prosocial Motivation, which appears to go hand-in-hand with this interview with a woman I admire a great deal, Simone Heng, a Singapore-based human connection expert on our Epidemic of Loneliness who offers this ray of hope:
“As artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent, authentic connections will move up the value chain. Having robust human connection skills in a digital world will become rarer and more valuable.”
Simone Heng, Human Connection expert
That’ll do ya! Happy new year, Nx
This is basically my prediction! I was afraid I was being too optimistic.
Ho-hum. I Smell Fear
Whenever I see posts that start with “I’m not anti-AI, I’m pro-human” (or some equally noble-sounding declaration), it often comes across as fear dressed up as virtue. Fear of change. Fear of being outpaced. Fear of irrelevance.
This isn’t about being “pro-human.” It’s about resisting disruption. History is full of examples where progress was met with resistance - not because it was bad for humanity, but because it threatened the established way of doing things. Here are five:
1. Cars vs. Horse-Drawn Carts
When automobiles arrived, they weren’t welcomed with open arms. The horse-drawn cart industry decried cars as dangerous and unreliable. But the real issue? Cars were disrupting their livelihood. Progress doesn’t stop. Cars won, and transportation was revolutionized.
2. The Printing Press
Scribes and monks resisted Gutenberg’s printing press, claiming it devalued literature and cheapened the written word. Their real fear? Losing control over the laborious process of copying manuscripts. Instead, the printing press democratized knowledge and launched the Renaissance.
3. Electricity vs. Gas Lighting
Gas companies resisted the rise of electricity, warning it was dangerous and unnecessary. But their resistance wasn’t about safety - it was about losing their dominance. Electricity didn’t just replace gas lighting; it powered an entirely new era of innovation.
4. Photography vs. Painting
When photography emerged, many painters dismissed it as “not real art.” Beneath the criticism was a fear that photography would render their work obsolete. Instead, photography opened the door to new artistic movements, like Impressionism and Modernism.
5. Streaming vs. Cinema
When streaming platforms like Netflix entered the scene, traditional film studios and cinemas resisted, declaring it would ruin the film industry. Instead, streaming reshaped the way we consume content, creating new opportunities for filmmakers and audiences alike.
Progress Always Wins
Resistance to progress often stems from self-interest. And while it’s easy to frame this resistance as being about protecting humanity, history shows it’s usually about protecting the status quo.
AI is no different. It’s not here to replace creativity or humanity - it’s a tool that expands what’s possible. Like the printing press, the camera, or the car, it changes how we create and interact with the world. Those who see it as a threat often fear the change it demands.
Sure, there’ll be some misuse of AI in creative arts - plagiarism, lazy imitations, or questionable ethics. So what? Who cares? And if an artist suffers measurable loss from such misuses - that's what law courts are for. Just as they have been long before AI came on the scene.
Don't agree? So what are we to do? Throw the baby out with the bathwater because a minority of people misuse a tool? History is full of examples of technologies being misused - printing presses spread propaganda, cars caused accidents, cameras invaded privacy. Yet, no one argues we should have abandoned those innovations entirely. The same applies here. The potential for misuse doesn’t outweigh the transformative possibilities AI brings to creativity. I say no to throwing out the baby and yes to seeing the bigger picture.
For anyone holding onto an anti-AI stance under the guise of being “pro-human,” consider this: what defines humanity is adaptability. Fear might slow progress, but it will never stop it. And history makes one thing clear: those who evolve will always thrive.