Organic Free-Range Content
McDonalds is the latest company facing criticism over the extreme in your face use of generative AI in a recent holiday ad. The perception was so poor that the company pulled the ad and went back to the drawing board to figure out how to effectively use AI. Coca Cola faced similar criticism with their recent holiday ad.
The criticism around AI use isn’t limited to giant corporations with an already negative public perception.The head of Larian Studios recently had to deflect criticism over his teams use of AI in their new project despite having recently produced Baldur’s Gate 3, arguably the greatest RPG game of all time.
AI companies have promised limitless creativity at the tips of our fingers and exceptional creative works are only limited by our imagination and not by the size of the team or budget.
Games Studios, Movie and TV Producers, and Marketing Companies will all have to face and prove that any generative AI use in their products is ethical enough to get the public stamp of approval - or more likely avoid the public stamp of shame.
I am reminded of the early 2000s when consumers were loudly voicing concerns over rampant pesticide use, over engineered produce, and a drop in the overall quality of the fruits and vegetables in grocery stores. Sustainably grown produce without the use of pesticides grew in popularity and stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joes capitalized on this movement. They provided safe havens for consumers to trust that the items in their shopping cart aligned with their desire to move away from mass produced and lower quality groceries.
As with any good thing the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction and now we are less likely to trust every ‘Organic’ label and are met with bins of lettuce proudly stamped as gluten-free, but the desire for high-quality and delicately crafted products remains.
What does this mean for future AI applications as the public starts to similarly push back on AI use? The Billions of dollars invested into AI was predicated on the promise that the tools created using this technology would drive productivity and growth. If every commercial, new video game, or TV show will be publicly scrutinized until the masses can confirm that the end result was made with an ‘ethical’ amount of AI the returns on this investment will never materialize.
Corporations and creative teams will have to start making decisions with this balance in mind. Where is the line separating ‘acceptable’ AI use and slop? Is generating concept art to inspire your human artist acceptable? Is overlaying an AI generated graphic fine because you have human actors in your Super Bowl commercial?
Is the line determined by the quality? As the models and tools continue to improve and our ability to identify AI generated materials becomes more difficult will we expect/force corporations to disclose an ‘ethical’ use of AI?
Is this only limited to large corporations that have the resources to do otherwise? What happens when the next indie darling on Steam is a one-person team who relied heavily on generative AI, but produces something of exceptional quality? Do they get a pass because their creative vision would otherwise have been impossible to create without a full games studio?
What about the animated series released on YouTube that was generated using AI tools? An original story that came from the mind of someone without the skills to bring that narrative into reality. Is their creativity invalid because they relied on AI technology to bring it to life?
I see a future where any creative work is deemed guilty unless proven innocent and the latest Netflix original or Wendy’s commercial will proudly boast that no AIs had a hand in creating what’s on your screen. Much like the 100% Organic Tomatoes and Free-Range Chicken Breast at your local Whole Foods these offerings will be perceived as higher quality and consumers will gravitate towards companies they know are keeping the dream of humanity alive.
How this shift in perception will apply to other aspects of life and business I don’t know.
The AI generating your monthly budget reports and summarizing meetings won’t receive the same public backlash, but is having just as much impact on human contribution.
These are interesting conversations to have and I am curious to see how this narrative continues to evolve.
This content is 100% organic, free-range, and human created.