How Does AI Affect Your Online Shopping?

[Dannyalcatraz]

Video quality seems quite far behind photo quality to me. Videos are still pretty clearly AI, while photos are getting close to indistinguishable.

I was just reading an article about major geopolitical happenings that have spawned a spate of propaganda videos that were AI-generated.

While there were indeed artifacts that revealed the videos as fake, I noted that none of the ones listed by the sleuths involved foreground images.

I personally haven’t been able to find the tells in the tai-chi ads, but that’s probably because I’m only seeing them when they pop up, so I can’t look for subtle oddities.

But just as a forex, here’s a video comparing 2 AI generated “will smith eating” vids, created just 2 years apart:

Will Smith Spaghetti 2023 vs 2025 #ai

👇 VEO 2 Launched! Watch Video

m.youtube.com

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Calm down, please.

Yeah... that was unkind of me. Sorry about that.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I generally don’t like AI products or art. My kids claim to be able to detect it. I will never like it better than the human made article.

But say I wrote a gaming supplement. I don’t have money to buy good art. I just don’t. My ideas and product is solid otherwise. What if AI is the only way I can get eyes on what I made and importantly, the only way I will get paid for what I made?

Does it avoid paying the real human artist? I don’t know for sure since I could not afford them and was not able to pay them if I wanted to.

I don’t particularly like AI products. I am not happy about what I believe AI will ultimately cause…

But

I don’t think the ethics are quite as clear cut regarding AI products as some people do. It’s not all easy answers for me.

 

[Morrus]

But say I wrote a gaming supplement. I don’t have money to buy good art. I just don’t. My ideas and product is solid otherwise. What if AI is the only way I can get eyes on what I made and importantly, the only way I will get paid for what I made?

It's OK to not be able to afford things we want. That is life. But the answer isn't to do something unethical in order to get it. The answer is that you have to go without it until you can afford it.

Do a Kickstarter to pay for art. There are easy answers to this problem which don't involve dodgy ethics.

Does it avoid paying the real human artist? I don’t know for sure since I could not afford them and was not able to pay them if I wanted to.

You contribute to the machinery that steals from real human artists and drives them out of business by regurgitating their work. You couldn't afford the luxury of art to adorn your product. They now can't afford to eat because nobody is hiring them.

If your business can't operate without exploiting people, your business should not exist.

(I realise this is all hypothetical but you presented it as a hypothetical "I" so I responded with a hypothetical "you".).

 

[Incenjucar]

While you should not expect it, it's not impossible to get an artist to provide art under a deal other than an immediate payment. A percentage of profit etc. can work as long as you're not asking for masterpieces. Don't abuse that possibility, but it's there.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

It's OK to not be able to afford things we want. That is life. But the answer isn't to do something unethical in order to get it. The answer is that you have to go without it until you can afford it.

Do a Kickstarter to pay for art. There are easy answers to this problem which don't involve dodgy ethics.

You contribute to the machinery that steals from real human artists and drives them out of business by regurgitating their work. You couldn't afford the luxury of art to adorn your product. They now can't afford to eat because nobody is hiring them.

If your business can't operate without exploiting people, your business should not exist.

(I realise this is all hypothetical but you presented it as a hypothetical "I" so I responded with a hypothetical "you".).

I get it and don’t disagree.

I am frankly worried for my kids’ future job prospects due to AI and for societal harm I predict.

Not sure it has that impact on a small scale like a one person one product offering. But in aggregate I guess it does still screw people.

Ugh

 

[Morrus]

While you should not expect it, it's not impossible to get an artist to provide art under a deal other than an immediate payment. A percentage of profit etc. can work as long as you're not asking for masterpieces. Don't abuse that possibility, but it's there.

I have strong feelings about royalty-only deals. The artist's labour only gets rewarded if your marketing works, a thing beyond their control. A fair advance makes that much more palatable.

 

[Morrus]

I am frankly worried for my kids’ future job prospects due to AI and for societal harm I predict.

It'll be a different world, that's for sure. But to be fair, they probably won't have time to worry about that as they'll be too busy surviving the floods and hurricanes and droughts brought about by climate change! So there's that!

Not sure it has that impact on a small scale like a one person one product offering. But in aggregate I guess it does still screw people.

Well, that's the justification for all bad behaviour, isn't it? It doesn't matter if it's just me dropping litter, it doesn't matter if it's just me avoiding taxes, it doesn't matter if it's just me stealing a t-shirt from that little shop, it doesn't matter it it's just me...

 

[Tea Cozy]

Now as this poll shows

While this poll is an interesting discussion starter, it is not nearly scientific enough to base anything on. The self-selection bias for starters.

Here are some interesting Pew Research surveys on views on AI in general.

How People Around the World View AI

Most adults across 25 countries are aware of AI, and people are generally more concerned than excited about its effects on daily life.

www.pewresearch.org

The US tops the list of countries in feeling "more concern than excitement" over AI (50% surveyed). For the majority of countries polled, the plurality tends toward "equally concerned and excited."

Pew's report specifically on the US:

How Americans View AI and Its Impact on People and Society

Americans are worried about using AI more in daily life, seeing harm to human creativity and relationships. But they’re open to AI use in weather forecasting, medicine and other data-heavy tasks.

www.pewresearch.org

Despite A LOT of concern, "73% [of Americans surveyed] say they’d be willing to let AI assist them at least a little with day-to-day activities."

As for TTRPGs, who knows? This poll isn't the path to answers though.

That said, the TTRPG pond is small enough that bubbles of opinion could have a significant impact regardless of whether the opinion reflects the majority of players or not. I took a quick look at the DMs Guild's current most popular books to see whether anything disclosing AI usage showed up. It's not much to base anything on, but I was curious. I did actually see one bestselling sourcebook heavily featuring AI art and disclosing AI usage on its product page. ETA: Then I found more. There are just a few books I've found so far, but it does show that there are at least exceptions.

 

[Morrus]

While this poll is an interesting discussion starter, it is not nearly scientific enough to base anything on.

I don't think anybody is basing anything on it. We're just having a conversation. There's no real-world policy hanging off this poll. Don't worry.