The Man Who Makes AI Slop by Hand

Mu is not nan only comedian who has tried to imitate nan style of AI-generated videos, but he really nails each of nan elements: The clumsy bodily movements, nan spaced-out facial expressions, and nan unpredictable crippled development. Many viewers, maine included, were shocked astatine really accurately he captured nan principle of AI slop videos.

Mu tells maine that nan half-dozen AI imitation videos he has filmed correspond only a mini portion of his acting career. He has wanted to beryllium an character since assemblage and spent nan summertime aft his freshman twelvemonth astatine Hengdian World Studios—the world’s largest movie studio—looking for inheritance acting opportunities. He started making drama sketches connected Chinese societal media successful 2019, and contented creation now takes up astir of his time.

The occurrence of his AI imitation videos earned him a sponsorship woody from a Chinese generative AI company, which paid him 80,000 RMB (about $11,000) to nutrient 2 much sketches promoting nan company’s video model. That’s not a bad gig, but I honestly expected Mu to person received much opportunities done his world virality.

As portion of nan sponsorship, Mu changeable 2 versions of nan sketches, 1 that embedded AI-generated footage and 1 without it. He was secretly hoping that nan advertiser would take nan latter, because it showcases quality acting skills beforehand and center. But nan advertiser chose nan 1 pinch nan AI. “That benignant of feels for illustration it’s starting to bargain jobs from quality actors, doesn’t it?” Mu says.

Mu popped up connected my timeline again past week erstwhile he released a sequel to his first AI imitation series, this clip mimicking the videos created by Sora, OpenAI’s latest generative video tool. His caller video is overmuch much subtle but still manages to nail that unexplainably unsettling emotion that has endured moreover arsenic AI videos go much advanced.

Mu says location is simply a perpetual conflict underway arsenic AI accelerates, but it’s not man versus machine. Rather, nan conflict is betwixt humans and different humans who make AI models, and each broadside is perpetually trying to 1 up nan other. “We’re poking nosy astatine immoderate of AI’s flaws, its eeriness and absurdity, but nan AI creators are astir apt improving those, too. You see, this year’s AI already looks overmuch much human,” Mu says.

How to Act Like AI

Before he made his first AI imitation sketch successful July 2024, Mu watched a batch of AI slop videos to study their communal traits. He wanted to understand nan kinds of mistakes AI often makes and past re-create them successful his ain scripts.

For example, erstwhile an entity appears successful nan frame, AI often misunderstands its intent for being there. For example, a hanger tin beryllium utilized to bent clothes, but it’s besides often nan limb of prime erstwhile parents successful China physically punish their children. That dual usage inspired another one of Mu’s videos past year, wherever midway done pretending to deed his “son” pinch a hanger, nan boy’s shorts mysteriously travel off, and Mu looks for illustration he abruptly forgot what he’s doing and decided to bent up nan shorts instead.