Commentary By: Rashad Uhuru, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
I’ve always had a problem with generative AI. The “funny” videos of the cats being made to dance always made me uncomfortable. They often feel hollow.
Artificial Intelligence has had a sweeping effect on the world. These days it is hard to have a conversation with somebody without mentioning it.
The definition on nasa.gov, reads “Artificial Intelligence refers to computer systems that can perform complex tasks normally done by human-reasoning, decision making, creating, etc.”
AI is just the umbrella term of many different types. It finds its way into the medical field when it helps with patient diagnoses. The automotive industry also makes use of these programs with something like self-driving vehicles.
Of course it is something that has become necessary in a lot of different fields. I do not denounce it completely. I think it is ignorant to ignore the pros simply because there are cons.
In these examples, AI is used to predict and think like humans for efficiency and in some cases accuracy purposes.
But today we’re speaking about generative AI, a form of AI that uses these computer systems to create like humans. Creating content including text, audio, images, and video.
This is what I have a problem with. Using these systems for creative works.
I’m someone who has a ton of interest in the writing and producing of all kinds of creative projects. The emotional tether that is created between us when we tell stories and share a piece of ourselves is what makes these sorts of things special. Whether it’s a poem in which the author is letting us have a look into their internal turmoil as a means for a connection, or a screenwriter for a film using their experiences to tell the human story of grief, our hearts stamp these stories.
Generally, it seemed that people were against this sort of generative AI and what it could mean as a sacrifice of the singularity that is the human touch.
I would think most people would be against something like an AI generated screenplay for a film, but I’m becoming less and less sure of this, and it’s because of the positive reception of some of the most recent generative content.
It was just two years ago when we were all laughing at the Will Smith spaghetti video (click here to see the video) and just how bad it was.
“That’s not Will Smith” and “No one would believe this” were remarks we made, but in 2025 with these models like Google Veo 3 getting better and better everyday, it is getting harder and harder to distinguish between the real and the fabricated.
Over the last month or so I have seen these AI “clapback” videos (click here for an example). They often include two generated humans arguing with each other as they exchange comedic remarks, whether they’re siblings or a customer complaining to a fast food employee because their order was wrong.
People have been loving these videos. Some videos with millions of likes and some with users ranking their favorite clapbacks. The increased accuracy, smoothness, and sharpness of this technology is why people are buying in.
This is the scary part for me because it shows that if something is entertaining enough and can replicate human creation enough people will watch. We are against AI playing this sort of role in creation until those lines are blurred.
If in 3-5 years full length AI generated films are a possibility, (this is already being tested) and I wouldn’t be surprised with how quickly this tech is evolving, how many people do you think would buy tickets? Would you go to the theater to watch this sort of content over a story by humans as long as it kept your attention?
How good does this stuff have to get before it doesn’t matter to you? Who does that hurt? Are we headed towards a world where the AI machine is a champion in a creative space that was once driven by our emotion and innovation?
Admittedly, a lot of these “clapback” videos are funny, but I was surprised by just how many people were sharing and engaging with this content. I don’t necessarily think we’re close to a time where our feeds will be mainly filled with this type of content, but this recent surge told me that people are more willing to invite it in than I’m comfortable with.
It’s only getting better, the line between our creations and their “creations” is thinning, meaning that willingness to invite it in is only getting stronger.
I think this is something to watch out for. We can’t lose the “why” in creation for a couple of laughs.
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