You’re definitely under a rock if you haven’t heard of AI, and not even a famous rock. If you are on the internet these days, it’s almost impossible to escape it, thanks to “AI content creators”—creators who rely heavily on generative AI tools. You see AI content everywhere, from long blog articles and social media images to short-form and even long YouTube videos.
Many people are fascinated by these pieces of content and are entirely in love with them. But we all have that friend who has something negative to say when they see content they believe is AI-generated—you may even be that friend.
If you ever wondered why people hate AI-generated content, even though it looks like the future of content creation, read on. Here, we present reasons people dislike AI content, not speculative ones, but sourced from real people.
Some People Feel Deceived By It
When we think about artistic content, our minds wander to the people behind it and the personal stories or messages they aim to convey. For many of us, art transcends the public-facing aspects, and that’s where the true beauty lies. That’s what made Spotify’s Behind the Lyrics partnership with Genius such a widely loved feature, as listeners were able to peep into the real stories and facts behind songs they loved.
With such expectations about art, AI-generated content, especially when presented as something real, feels deceptive. We may see it and love it, but when we want to dig into it, we find that it’s just a combo of prompts. That generally ruins the art’s beauty for many people.
AI Strips Away Pride Earned From Effort
In content creation, effort has always been a bragging right. Creators who put out masterpieces brag about how many days it took to bring an idea to life or perfect it. The Catcher in the Rye, a book by J. D. Salinger, took 10 years to complete, and J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings took 17 years (Bookstr)—mindblowing, if you ask me. Even creative blog articles can take days to write.
With AI, however, speed is a significant selling point. You see ad phrases like “you can generate a 2000-word article in 5 minutes” or “get a publishable video with just one prompt”. The effort and time put into creating similar original works feel invalidated when AI creators get applause for how fast they can whip up something similar.
Some People Feel Intimidated
Using AI comes easily to some, but not to others. While some people are generating “usable” content quickly, others are struggling to get their first good result with AI. For some of these people, the learning curve feels too steep, making them think they may never catch up. So, they start to fear AI’s potential and what it means for them.
Could it be that, sooner or later, those who are proficient in AI will overtake them and dominate their industry, leaving them behind? Will they ever learn to use it so well that they can compete favorably with other users? This intimidation eventually becomes genuine dislike.
AI Reduces Traditional Creators' Earning Power
Before generative AI hit it big, we used to pay for all forms of content. However, today, almost anyone can generate anything with a few prompts. People now think, “Why hire a writer for product descriptions when I have ChatGPT?” or “Why pay for a Ghibli-style painting when Gemini can give me 50?”
Only those with content needs large enough to require assistance or those who care about human input or efforts still see traditional creators as worthy of their money. This means that the more people adopt AI, the more certain creators lose earning power, and it’s not something many of them find amusing.
AI Normalizes Creative Careers
Many writers, painters, musicians, and videomakers have enjoyed some sort of “elevated” status in society. People see them as “talented” and generally like to associate with them. Because of this, some creators consider themselves “superior” to other professionals outside the creative field.
AI has upended these perceptions by enabling everyday people to produce creative work with ease, sometimes at a level that rivals that of traditional creators. For those who aren’t strict art purists, it can be difficult to distinguish between human-made pieces and AI-generated ones.
As consumers embrace these pieces of content, they tear down the doors that separate creatives from people in other fields. Creators no longer feel as special to many people, and not many of them take it well.
AI Works Feel Generic
People say, “AI content feels soulless,” and sometimes I’m forced to agree. A few months ago, I was listening to a country music mix on YouTube Music when I came across what sounded like an AI-generated track. How did I know? It just felt “bland.” I can’t fully explain it, but any purist would probably recognize the same emptiness.
Afterward, I did some Googling and found some resources, including a Reddit thread that confirmed I wasn’t alone. Others claimed they also noticed AI-made music appearing in their recommendations and voiced their frustration about it.
Now, I’m not saying AI combined with human input can’t create some impressive work. However, it’s rare to see such works. I’ve seen tons of images, articles, and images created with AI, and I can count the instances where I’ve been genuinely impressed with them as much as I would be impressed by a fully human-created work.
As people grow fed up with the low-effort AI output littering the internet, their sentiment towards AI turns negative.
AI Suppresses Creative Expressions
The perception of creative works is that there’s a meaning behind them. Stories are born of life experiences or deep thoughts, and articles should express the writer’s genuine opinions. Yes, AI can adapt to create using these real factors, but that requires work that many creators aren’t ready for. They let AI do the thinking, and the human touch gets lost.
In human-created works, even noticeable errors carry weight, as they give insight into the creation process and become interesting stories of turning challenges into memorable pieces. AI doesn’t allow room for these creative experiences; hence, many quickly disconnect from its content.
Another issue is people trying to take credit for AI-generated work. Since many don’t view AI content as truly original, it can feel disappointing to discover that someone expected to be creative is instead presenting AI output as their own. This only reinforces the perception that AI diminishes genuine creativity.
AI “Steals” From Genuine Creators
Ask AI to give you a poem written like the legendary Shakespeare, and it will. The reason is that it has been trained on the works of creators like him and continues to learn from other creators to this day. Its output cannot always be seen as original because it creates using what it learns. However, there are no rewards for the artists whose work it borrows.
That’s one strong reason behind the public backlash against AI content. Content creators feel ripped. Take Suno, for example. It has been the center of debate among music artists who insist they did not grant permission for it to use their content to train its models. Creators feel they should either be rewarded or have their works excluded from the models’ training. A jury will have to decide on that in the near future.
What’s The Way Forward?
Reading this, you’ll see that the reasons people dislike AI content span different ideologies. Some feel genuine, while others feel unnecessary and fearful. Many of these concerns are easy to dismiss, but others require us to pause and reflect on the ethical and creative use of AI. I personally don’t hate AI, but I understand some of these concerns raised above, especially as a creator.
AI is here to stay, and disliking it won’t necessarily reduce its use. However, ethical use will definitely increase its acceptance and adoption. Generative AI builders should build models that don’t infringe on creators’ rights, and those using AI for creative works shouldn’t outsource their creativity to the machine.
Also, those who fear AI replacing them should learn to use AI in their craft to create better outputs. It doesn’t have to be a big step. Go one piece at a time, and soon, you’ll realize not only how helpful AI can be, but also that anyone willing to learn can use AI.
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