Once in a while, I would spend hours scrolling through my old blog drafts, unfinished ideas from years past when writing felt like conversing with a small circle of friends. As for me, there were no real updates like editing. Now it means fighting editing tools that purport to provide assistance, but sometimes feel like they’re taking wild guesses at my style. Last year Gartner published a report about creators and AI, addressing authenticity, that somehow mentioned this conundrum. I haven’t come across the ideal solution yet, but so far I have learned that I am always forced to constantly adapt myself with every new change on the platform which ultimately becomes impossible to resist.
Every now and then, Felix starts working with a set of prompts and ChatGPT, for brainstorming sessions. Not every single idea hits the mark, but there is always a select few that result in a creative spark. As for editing, Descript seems to be his go to and often opens it simply to check what works that week. The order does not need to be strict: sometimes, inspiration strikes while audio-uploading it for the background. A recent industry report suggests around an hour a week—more if time allows—to be spent exploring features on new products or beta versions. The most crucial detail is maintaining the balance of originality even while responsibilities are being passed around between human hands and AI.
Some days the thrum of aged coffee shops fades into a screen-lit stillness, while other times it’s avatars jostling for space in cyberspace—Zuno’s patrons seem to convene anywhere with internet access. As far as I can tell, a couple of people are already making quite a bit of money from virtual things, or so the Roblox Investor Presentation 2024 suggests. Studios now might mean a sofa corner or a disembodied room sketched out in Figma; nobody agrees on which space matters most and that part feels open-ended.
“Hang on, you’re telling me the app actually tracks if I’m in a bad mood?” Felix said, half laughing. Zuno shrugged, “Well, not quite in your head, but there’s that engagement spikes or drops with certain words or tones. Advocacy group folks have pointed out it’s mostly pattern-guessing, not emotion tracking due to privacy laws like GDPR or CCPA from just a couple years ago.” He continued. “Argument could be made people tend to feel uneasy when algorithms nudge what content shows up based on those signals.”
As uncovered by Pew Research Center back in 2023, around seven out of every ten younger people preferred interactivity over static posts. Younger users blend polls, live Q&As, and even AR doodads into their daily online routines. Some argue whether it is driven by novelty, the technology, or both—but co-creation no longer feels like a bonus; it’s the default for these audiences.
Insta Reels, for instance, feels like watching a lizard change colors mid-step. Pieces of content in social platforms are now restructured, and it appears that there is an endless flow of creativity. The unpredictability of these rapid changes even makes me consider that I’ve completely forgotten yesterday’s layout.
Let’s set aside our theories for now and focus on practical matters. Felix sometimes opens TikTok’s dashboard just to think how many out of all the posts actually engage people to click, vote, or comment. “Serious Umbrella Corporation science stuff,” which can include simple polls and stickers, goes unacknowledged by the majority until one day a finger gets split off by the “one”; everything is turned around as monthly engagement prompts. AI transparency tools are everywhere, yet nobody’s found the one true way as of now.
Looking back to 2020, it’s fascinating how people didn’t foresee TikTok extending into longer videos or making search such a massive component. Around that timeframe, the old-school expertise was replaced with adaptability. Looking back at the early estimators, words like “hazy” and “dreamy” spring into mind.
It doesn’t seem like robots are taking over everything just yet. Sure, some people are worried that the next wave of AI video technology will push out smaller creators, but that doesn’t always stick. Sometimes what seems like a big leap toward automation only shifts the balance a little; there are still many spaces where being personable or sharing quirky behind-the-scenes anecdotes is important. Although you will hear examples being discussed, nothing seems to conclusively prove that small teams are fully displaced, as early reports appear to indicate the “clear-cut” narrative does not hold.
Data from Kantti reveals that, maybe try starting with creating a list of tasks that consume the most time, such as analytics, replying to comments, or editing replies. From there, try out ChatGPT or Descript to take care of the repetitive and menial tasks first. Whenever you have free time, spend a little time each week exploring new features like shopping tags on Instagram Reels or new games on Roblox. It does not have to be done all at once, and immediate effectiveness is not guaranteed. However, adding some interactive elements over time such as Q&A or AR filters could improve audience engagement. Explaining transparently how AI intervenes in content creation might reduce fans’ anxiety about the involvement of technology. There is no need to overly concern yourself with being replaced by machines. At least for now, the storyline and social connection parts still seem to be areas where humans excel.
