Will AI Influencers Crash the Creator Economy?
▼ Summary
– Jeremy Carrasco rapidly gained a large social media following by teaching AI literacy, focusing on how to identify AI-generated videos through specific visual flaws.
– He entered this space because he felt the conversation was dominated by tech companies, not creators, and saw a need for basic public education on the topic.
– AI-generated content is being used for various purposes, from harmless viral clips for ad revenue to outright scams and the theft of creators’ likenesses.
– Carrasco argues the current generative AI video model is fundamentally flawed, as it relies on training with stolen data, and he sees few ethical uses in the creator space.
– Social media platforms are accelerating problems by flooding with AI content, failing to enforce labeling rules, and developing AI tools that threaten the creator economy’s ad-based revenue model.
The rapid rise of AI-generated content is creating a seismic shift in the creator economy, forcing a new conversation about authenticity, ethics, and the very future of online content creation. Jeremy Carrasco, who built a following of over 300,000 on TikTok and Instagram in just months, is at the forefront of this discussion. He entered the space to promote ethical AI use in video production but quickly pivoted to a critical mission: teaching people how to spot AI-generated videos. He identified a gap, realizing the dialogue was dominated by tech companies, not creators who understand the practical and ethical landscape.
His content focuses on the telltale signs of AI “slop,” such as wobbly eyes, inconsistent background details, and unnaturally soft skin textures. He highlights that tools like Sora 2 have dramatically lowered the barrier to entry, making it free and simple for anyone to churn out convincing clips. The motivation isn’t always malicious; sometimes it’s purely about gaming the system for views and revenue. A compilation of absurd AI-generated animal clips, for instance, could net around $1,000 from platform funds for millions of views, a significant sum in many parts of the world.
However, more sinister schemes are flourishing. Jeremy points to accounts like Yang Mun, a caricatured AI “Chinese medicine” practitioner with over 1.5 million followers. This account drives viewers to purchase an $11 ebook that is likely entirely AI-generated, representing a straightforward scam. More disturbingly, accounts like those impersonating Maddie Quinn are actively stealing content and likenesses from real creators, often women, using AI to replace faces or create avatars for platforms like OnlyFans without consent.
When asked about ethical uses for generative AI in creation, Jeremy’s answer is a qualified “generally no.” He acknowledges potential carve-outs for accessibility but argues the foundational model is flawed. “The only way that you can make AI video as a generative tool the way that they’re currently doing it,” he states, “is to steal a bunch of people’s data.” He cites attempts, like one by Lionsgate to train a model on its own library, which failed due to insufficient data, proving the current reliance on scraped content.
The platforms themselves are accelerating the problem. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are flooded with AI content, and their enforcement of AI labeling rules is inconsistent. This deluge makes it harder for authentic creators to be seen and degrades the user experience. Compounding the issue, these same platforms are developing their own generative AI tools. Jeremy warns this directly threatens the creator economy’s financial backbone: advertising.
“Creators are basically just like running ad agencies,” he notes, with sponsorships being a primary income source. Now, companies like Meta, Amazon, and DirecTV are experimenting with AI-generated ads. The fear is that brands will eventually bypass human creators entirely, purchasing cheap, AI-produced ad services directly from the platforms. While some creators might consider joining the AI bandwagon, Jeremy is skeptical. He questions whether this is a sustainable business opportunity for creators, concluding it likely is not, as the technology fundamentally undermines the value of human creativity and trust. The current trajectory suggests a looming crash for the creator economy that built these platforms, unless significant ethical and structural changes are made.
(Source: The Verge)
