AI generated video content is a lightning rod of a topic. There's a huge amount of negative sentiment, in part due the massive flood of "AI slop" infiltrating the Internet. I'm based in Los Angeles, and it feels like the vast majority of the creative community is viscerally opposed to generative AI. This is not surprising, considering that their labor environment is being disrupted, not to mention the fact that the technology could not exist without training on their content, which it did without consent or compensation. That being said, new technologies are always being inserted into production workflows, and this time is no different.

Johan Brandstedt, whom I interviewed in 2024, often describes the use of generative AI products and services as "commissioning" works, akin to giving a brief to an agency and waiting for their output. This analogy describes one way in which these products are used, where the process is merely prompting and expecting an output, perhaps even repeating the process many times to achieve the desired result. In a sense, is a movie director not "commissioning" the labor of all of the other laborers on a film, from the cinematographer to the actors, the costume designers, and so many more?

In this episode, I discuss the current landscape of AI video with Dev Walker, who uses the artist name GLUMLOT. I wanted to temporarily put aside my personal concerns, have an open mind, and learn something.

Note: I present video content in this episode, so it is probably better consumed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zoj7Dsuwck

Creators presented:

https://www.youtube.com/@glumlot

https://www.youtube.com/@gossip.goblin

https://www.youtube.com/@mrjonfinger

In this episode I discuss the past, present, and potential future effects of technology and AI on labor with Benjamin Shiller, an economist and author of the book AI Economics: How Technology Transforms Jobs, Markets, Life, & Our Future. Benjamin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Brandeis University, and his research primarily focuses on the economic impacts of digitization and new technologies.

Benjamin Shiller:
https://benjaminshiller.com/

Block shares soar as much as 24% as company slashes workforce by nearly half:
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/26/block-laying-off-about-4000-employees-nearly-half-of-its-workforce.html

Why AI Boosts Creativity for Some Employees but Not Others:
https://hbr.org/2026/01/why-ai-boosts-creativity-for-some-employees-but-not-others

"Hard Parts and Easy Parts":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuvK7Ds-XyI

In this episode I discuss digital duplicates ("AI deepfakes") with Atay Kozlovski, a postdoctoral researcher at the Delft University of Technology. He holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Zurich, an MA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Bern, and a BA from Tel Aviv University.

Atay Kozlovski:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/atay-kozlovski-6a59b8290/
ataykoz@gmail.com

Deepfakes and Beyond: Mapping the Ethics and Risks of Digital Duplicates: https://www.techpolicy.press/deepfakes-and-beyond-mapping-the-ethics-and-risks-of-digital-duplicates/

Digital Dybbuks and virtual Golems: the ethics of digital duplicates in Holocaust testimony: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/memory-mind-and-media/article/digital-dybbuks-and-virtual-golems-the-ethics-of-digital-duplicates-in-holocaust-testimony/E2028F2B6EEE7E717E0CE18A64C8F0ED

AI Conversational Simulations with Deceased Holocaust Survivors Must Serve as Conduits for Survivors to Continue Sharing Their Stories: https://digitalmemorydialogues.com/editions/dialogue-2-artificial-intelligence/articles/response-ii-ai-conversational-simulations-with-deceased-holocaust-survivors-must-serve-as-conduits-for-survivors-to-continue-sharing-their-stories

The Legal & Data-Architecture Aspects of "Digital Duplicates": Extending Danaher and Nyholm's MVPP Framework: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5499079

Call for safeguards to prevent unwanted 'hauntings' by AI chatbots of dead loved ones: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/call-for-safeguards-to-prevent-unwanted-hauntings-by-ai-chatbots-of-dead-loved-ones

Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars: on Responsible Applications of Generative AI in the Digital Afterlife Industry: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-024-00744-w