AUDIO-2026-03-06-17-26-30

The internet is becoming more intense with AI-generated content like Vibes and Sora, making it easier to create realistic videos. AI videos are increasing on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, but it's hard to estimate the exact amount. Vibes by Meta focuses on expressive AI videos, while Sora allows users to insert themselves or celebrities into scenarios. However, there are concerns about copyright issues and distinguishing real from AI content. Some find AI content engaging, while others like Maria are creeped out by it. The impact of AI videos includes spreading disinformation, eroding trust, and reinforcing biases. This raises questions about authenticity and trustworthiness in online content. Hey guys, now let's be real, the internet can be a pretty intense place. I hate to break it to you, it might be getting a bit more intense now too. You've probably all seen AI generated content on your feeds, videos like Cleopatra walking around modern Egypt, or the emotional support kangaroo on a plane. Sometimes this stuff looks pretty realistic, other times less so. Now two new apps have been launched to take this content to the next level, you've got Vibes from Meta and Sora from the makers of ChatGPT. So in theory AI videos will become easier to make, so does that mean we're going to see more AI slop on our feeds? And will it be harder than ever to tell what's real and what's not? That's what we're getting into in today's episode. I'm Ikra and this is What in the World from the BBC World Service. And we have just the gal to talk us through this. Our favourite internet geek at the BBC, Jackie Wakefield. Hey. Thank you so much for that intro. Hi. Hi. Okay, so we're going to talk about Vibes and Sora in a bit. But first, can you break down a quick recap on what we mean by AI generated content course? So AI generated content is anything made with artificial intelligence. So synthetically with a machine learning algorithm. So essentially that means the computer can just learn on its own with any input that we give it. So these tools are trained on vast data sets to produce new content, which mimics human-like work. So do we know how much of social media is AI generated at the moment, like on platforms like TikTok, Instagram? We don't know fully at this stage. We know that it is slowly increasing. And we know particularly in the US, there's more and more AI generated content appearing on the platforms, particularly because 80% of social media content recommendations are powered by AI. We know that AI videos are actually rewarded by those AI recommend algorithms. There's been one analysis that estimated more than half of the English language posts on LinkedIn are AI generated. Not surprising to me when I look through LinkedIn. But it's hard to estimate exactly how much AI videos we're seeing on places like TikTok, Reel, Shorts at this stage. And now we've got Vibes and Sora, these two new apps seeming to take this content to a whole new level. Just tell us a little bit more about that. Sure. So Vibes is Meta's new AI video development tool. In essence, what it's doing is they use Midjourney, which I think we've all used before, an AI video making tool, and Black Forest to create video generating models. So they're using software that's already out there to create videos. And how they're treating it is more of like a creative tool. So Zuckerberg said that Vibes would be a feed of expressive AI generated videos from artists and creators. Whereas Sora is a little bit more different. They're kind of trying to go for a bit more of a social media, actually kind of putting yourself in the content a bit more as well. So Sora looks a bit like TikTok. It's like an endless scroll, new page, algorithmically determined what you see. Currently it's invite only, so it's a bit exclusive. But it kind of encouraged people like TikTok to create user generated content so you can actually scan yourself and you can put yourself in any range of scenarios. Oh my gosh, I'm a little bit scared. I know, but it's kind of like, it's a bit more fun and maybe a bit more engaging for people. And then the other thing you can do is take celebrities and other real people to create content with them, which has landed Sora in a little bit of hot water with various copyright issues. So I think Spongebob has been arrested many, many times on the app. Mickey Mouse has been doing some naughty things as well. So they've got a bit to sort out there as well with how do they deal with these characters and celebrities doing things that they definitely wouldn't do in real life. And it looks so realistic as well. And we wanted to find out what some of you guys think about seeing AI generated content on your socials too. Here's Paulina. Hi, my name is Paulina and I'm a big, big, big fan of AI generated videos. First of all, I'm a big fan of the TikTok comedy shows and they're based on AI characters. I'm a big fan of that. I think that's the right amount of growing up after a difficult work day, which we all experience. Second of all, I really love the historical POV videos. And I think I learned more through these AI videos rather than just reading some article from Wikipedia. And I think it's actually making social media more and more engaging. And I think that's the future we're all living in. And I think it gives more benefits rather than drawbacks into the AI generated content. And I've also seen those POV videos where you're kind of transported to places, moments of history, right? Ancient Egypt, ancient Rome. Could we be seeing more of this stuff then, Jackie? I think it could go either way. I don't know. Have you seen much AI generated content in your feed, for example? Yeah, it's becoming more and more. I've noticed as I interact with it, it feeds me more. I think when preparing for this, I definitely got more as I was looking for it. But honestly, I've not gotten a lot of this content yet on my own personal feeds. So it's sort of interesting to see if this will happen. I think early indications show that U.S. audiences are seeing a lot more of it. It makes sense. That's where the apps are. It also depends on – it's potentially a money-making thing. So people in the U.S. where you've got the creator program for TikTokers in the U.S. where they get paid per view on videos – I think it's roughly how it works – they've got a real incentive to create lots of content. And AI can really help them do that. So if you have more people wanting to make money off this, it could potentially fill our feeds more and more. But then you have a question of, if there's more AI content out there, how are we going to tell what's real or not? I think my best advice and how I do it is, is it a likely scenario? So one thing that I think a lot of people have probably seen are the videos of Jake Paul doing makeup tutorials. Is that one that you've come across? No, not come across that one yet. Well, Jake Paul is a – It'll come up as soon as I come up with it. Yeah, exactly. Now they've said it. He's known for being very macho. He's a boxer, but it could be fighter, so don't quote me on that. And he's doing these makeup tutorials on Sora. I think you can use a little bit of what you know about the world to probably guess that's not the case. And there's just certain movements where it just looks not quite what we're used to. But it takes a lot more time than it used to, and there isn't really these hacks that there used to be three years ago. Yeah. I mean, so if that world – if it's all becoming a bit more confusing and all meshed together, is there any evidence that this AI-generated content is kind of turning people off social media altogether, maybe? Well, I think that's the issue, isn't it? Because if you can't tell when something is AI-generated, it makes you question every single video, and it makes you rethink it. And then all of a sudden, social media – it's meant to be a bit of a break for the brain, right? All of a sudden, it becomes not so fun. There has been indications that social media usage has peaked back in 2022. That could be to do with COVID and lockdown usage. But it's continued to go into steady decline since then, which shows that people are starting to turn away from social media, particularly Gen Z. But we don't really know if this is just because of AI-generated content. Like, for me, for example, social media, when I was a bit younger, was much more chatting to friends, events, interacting with people. Now, it's become very voyeuristic. You're just watching other people live their lives. So, that could also be an explanation for why people are turning away. But I think AI slop will certainly make part of the picture. I, for one, am very sick of my mum sending me AI slop videos. That makes me not want to look at my TikTok page anymore. But I think it is something that people will start to turn away from as we see it go forward. Yes, an interesting point. And it's one that we asked Maria about as well. So, let's have a listen. Hi, my name is Maria. And honestly, I don't like AI videos. First reason is that I prefer watching real people with real emotions and real faces. And the second one is that sometimes AI videos get weirdly unexpected. Like, you're watching the video, someone's talking, and then it suddenly morphs into the wolf. Or, I don't know, their faces just melt into some robot. Also, for me, it's not art. Like, it's impressive, sure. But sometimes it just creeps me out. Okay, so let's zoom out on all this then and kind of look at the bigger implications. We've got people like President Trump sharing a lot of these AI videos, having a real impact on people as well. So, yeah, tell us a little bit more about that. What impact could these videos have in a real-life sense? How could they affect the way people do things? I think there's a couple things that AI-generated content has the potential to do, and we've seen it do. So, the first is just pure disinformation. It makes people believe something happened when it didn't. The other is erosion of trust. So, if you feel the need to check every single video, does that mean you won't trust the videos that are real? Then I think you've got this aspect of rage bait slash reaffirming, I guess, our own prejudices or thoughts that we already believe. So, one thing that we're seeing here in the UK in particular, I've seen a lot of AI-generated content around a lot of the protests that we've been happening. So, what you see is, and it's really not politically aligned at all. So, you'll see an LGBTQ protest, and every person that this AI Street interviewer interviews is very stereotypical and feeds into what maybe people want to hear about that community, if it's not a community that they support. Then on the other side of things, when you've got the anti-immigration protests, you're seeing those protesters depicted in a way that people who are against that would like to see. So, I think there's a bit of a concern of this content feeding into our already existing prejudices. Will that only continue to make it worse and feed what people want to see in the world? Yeah, that's really good advice. So, it's really important people check their sources more than ever, it seems. Jackie, it's been so good to have you come on again. Come back soon. Thank you so much. And that's it for today. There's loads more from us wherever you get your BBC podcasts, including episodes on AI therapy and whether AI influencers are the future of social media. I'm Ikra, you've been listening to What in the World from the BBC World Service, and we'll see you guys next time. Bye. Bye.