Artificial intelligence, once a science fiction concept, now sits at the center of how information is produced, shared, and consumed on the internet. AI is shaping perceptions. The changes are subtle. Open a browser, watch a video, scroll through images, and you're surrounded by AI-generated content that arrived without your request or consent.
The way YouTube feeds AI-generated content reminds me of grade school lunches. We were served mystery meat, something processed, unrecognizable. Most of us left it untouched, but some brave souls dared to eat it. Now, AI slop is served through digital platforms. This time, we can't leave it on the lunch tray. It blends into newsfeeds, thumbnails, search results, and music streams. It's embedded, unavoidable, and often unexamined.
What I find most concerning isn't the low quality of some of this content. It's how this material is being used. Some nation-states are incorporating AI-generated disinformation into coordinated campaigns. Others push altered media to fragment public understanding or overwhelm platforms with noise. Alongside that, marketing teams and influencers are embracing AI output without verification or authorship transparency. These tactics distort attention and undermine trust.
Of course, AI has its potential, just as the PC once did, as evidenced by my writing this article on my PC. In music production, when guided by human creativity, AI can support new forms of expression. In scientific fields, models can assist with analysis and pattern recognition. The tool can extend our reach. "But"....
What we're seeing with AI follows a familiar pattern in how Society responds to powerful new technologies. During the early days of radio and television, content flooded in before people fully understood the implications. The same happened with the early internet. AI is advancing even faster than the societal frameworks to manage it legally, ethically, and socially. Society is struggling to keep pace.
We are in a period where passive consumption is the norm and scrutiny is rare. This article is not about mistaking whatever's placed in front of us as food for thought. I can spend hours with analogies and give you hundreds more, but I won't what I will say in a non-AI positive statement. If you're using AI to pump out content with no intent, no skill, and no understanding, you're not a master craftsman. You're not an artist. You're not a scientist reshaping the world. You're a child with a dog turd on a stick trying to convince your friend it's edible.