The Odyssey proves 'human made' matters more than ever
Ironically, the introduction of AI writing, design, music and video has put a premium on ‘human made’.
I am not immune to the allure of AI content. Just this week I was passively scrolling on Instagram (a habit I do try to avoid but hey, no one’s perfect!), and I came across a clip of a young lad playing video games in his bedroom, which was unmistakably 90s - it even looked as though it was shot on DV cam.
Now, I’m a sucker for 90s nostalgia so I took a moment to wallow in the warm glow of the CRT TV but as I continued to scroll horizontally through the clips I began to realise that all these comforting scenes, ostensibly from thirty years ago, were probably generated yesterday.
I felt duped and disappointed in myself - how could I have been so easily fooled? Surely I am too smart, educated and cosmopolitan to fall for such slop? But when the content seems custom made to appeal to your very personal preferences (or prejudices), none of us is immune.
You may think my self-recrimination was a bit of an overreaction, I mean what’s the harm in indulging in a little slop every now and again, especially at the end of a long or testing day? But I liken slop content to junk food. It seems fine to treat yourself to a bucket of fleshy bird limbs or minced mammal organs every now and again but if you multiply that by the billions of people watching slop and eating junk it creates an irresistible business model for the worst elements of our society; those that battery farm hens and mow down swathes of the Amazon to graze beef or, in this case, erect data centres.
The more we give in to the urge for comfort and convenience over effort and quality the more fast food chains pop up on our high streets, the more slop appears on our screens and the harder it becomes to find anything with actual nutritional value to eat, drink, read or watch. Eventually, economies of scale drive the cost of junk food/content down and the cost of fruits, vegetables, books and movies up until they’re no longer a viable choice for regular working people.
All of this is explains why I am so glad that the marketing campaign for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, not to mention Iñárritu/Cruise’s new film Digger and previously Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, is focussed on the art, craft, analogue technology and human input that make their films so delicious and nutritious.
In the age of AI, how it’s made matters
Ironically, the introduction of AI writing, design, music and video has put a premium on ‘human made’, but as AI outputs appear more and more life-like, that label has to be proven not just declared.
Nolan and the cast of The Odyssey are on their own epic journey right now, talking to press around the world, not about the story or the backstage gossip but about film stock and lenses, writing and acting, and it’s creating a new appreciation for the value of talent, craft and passion as well as providing a clear antidote to AI slop.
AppleTV did much the same last year by revealing the “making of” its new AppleTV ident, which was produced with practical effects not CGI and many other brands, including local heroes such as Singapore Airlines and STB, are doing the same because customers value it.
The process of proving provenance of a book, script, essay or song is even incentivising start ups to develop applications that record and verify the creation process so human made claims can be substantiated and accusations of AI authorship shot down. Aidify, below, was designed by two students so they could prove to their teachers that they did in fact write their own essays!
Why do we care if it’s human made?
We care because we don’t want to be made a fool of by a machine. We want to feel discerning, connected, vulnerable and seen. To engage deeply with a book, story or scene we must trust the author and the performers enough to drop our guard and buy into their premise without fear of humiliation. If we suspect that we are not engaging with other humans but a machine harvesting our data or manipulating our opinions the spell is broken. It’s one reason amongst many why Facebook usage is in decline because content from friends has been replaced with content from machines.
It’s also why those who have been fooled tend to double down on things they have read or seen that turn out to be AI. They, quite naturally, don’t want to feel foolish and propagandists count on this. A recent CNA investigation uncovered 550 AI news anchors spreading false information about Singapore. I am sure my local readers will have been sent some of these clips by older relatives accompanied by angry-face emojis because they seem to confirm a bias that boomers are reluctant to let go of.
As AI content becomes increasingly indistinguishable from human-made it is incumbent upon creators and artist to combat cynicism and win trust, not by deliberately adding typos and other “human errors” but by showcasing their process as well as the end product. As The Odyssey’s opening box office shows, the audience will repay you in spades.
To Do List
My recommendations for new things to read, watch, look at, listen to and do this week:
READ: Jayvier Chua, 16, is a student at Victoria Junior College and the founder of Youths for Humans, a youth group advocating against the unethical use of AI. In this piece for Rice Media he explains why: https://www.ricemedia.co/gen-alpha-student-ai-singapore/
READ: Did you see the Polaroid anti-AI campaign? Well, now it’s The Economist’s turn to make the case for “Authentic Intelligence” in a magnificent return to form: https://campaignbrief.com/australias-cocogun-collaborates-with-the-economist-on-new-outdoor-work-in-the-us-and-uk/
LISTEN: In 2023 I wrote about cultural stagnation in the wake of new releases by Paul McCartney and the Stones. Two years later and here we are again but I have to admit the Stones’ new album ‘Foreign Tongues’ is a banger and this is my favourite tune thus far:
(And here’s the cover artist proving he painted it by hand!)
WATCH: The Odyssey…in IMAX…”as Nolan intended” lol!
Right, that’ll do ya! Nx
Great piece Neal!
Amazing! Thanks Graham 🙏