The prevalence of bizarre and uncanny content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) on platforms like TikTok and Facebook shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, it has become a profitable venture for creators, platforms, and even middlemen who teach others how to join in on the AI gold rush.
Platforms have created incentive programs for viral content, leading to the rise of a whole ecosystem of content creators who use generative AI to exploit these programs. Generative AI tools make content creation more accessible and open the floodgates to mass production on social media.
While some may question why repetitive and unimaginative AI-generated content can go viral, platforms like TikTok encourage creators to continuously share fresh and diverse content that doesn’t require a big production budget. Additionally, platforms like Spotify and YouTube actively remove AI-generated content, but TikTok’s community guidelines do not consider it as causing significant harm.
There is also a growing industry of people teaching others how to make money using cheap AI content. Social media entrepreneurs like Xiaonan, who runs multiple TikTok accounts with over 100,000 followers, earn significant amounts of money from TikTok and offer tutorials and classes on making AI-generated videos for profit.
Many creators of AI content are not who we might expect. Housewives, unemployed individuals, and college students are among those taking AI tutorials and using AI-generated content as a side job to earn income.
The rise of AI-generated content coincides with global unemployment trends and the growth of the gig economy. Creating AI-generated content is seen as more pleasant work than traditional gig jobs like driving or delivering food, as it is easy to learn, low-cost, and can be done from home with just a phone.
Observations suggest that many of these creators are from non-Western countries like India, Vietnam, and China. AI is not only used to create viral content but also to circulate already-viral videos across different countries and platforms.
We are only at the beginning of mainstream AI-generated content culture, and platforms will need to find a balance between engagement and maintaining trust and authenticity. For now, AI-generated content will continue to grow rapidly.
