Exposing the dangers of AI and yet using it daily for content is wrong.

[Hviteulf]

I’ve been sitting on this for awhile, hoping it was just a trend that would pass. However, seems like it’s here to stay and that’s really disappointing. Most posts and comments here (and on YouTube) are nothing but praise so I’ll pop one in that isn’t. Sorry. I still love everyone at Ickonic and the platform as a whole ..but we’re told to question everything and when we see something, don’t just shrug and say nothing about it.

So, I’ll be the dissent voice. Again, I do love the platform or else I wouldn’t bother grumbling about it.

It was two things that made me hit ‘cancel’ on my Ickonic membership but the biggest reason? The steady use of AI artwork for thumbnails and channels. These are clearly created by ChatGPT or GROK or some other such LLM- despite hours of content that rightfully exposes what this new set of tools is actually doing to human consciousness and perception of the world we all share. David, Jaymie, Gareth and Rich have all spoken for hours over the past year or so about the dangers of AI and yet……? There it is, all over Ickonic. Why? 

‘WTAF’ started first- using AI thumbnails back in the summer of last year. A terrible image of an AI sandwich on episode #172. I thought, ‘huh, that’s odd. Must be just poking fun at those AI slop channels on YouTube’, since just two episodes earlier, they had an episode called ‘AI India.com’. It was a really funny one too; I loved it. But evidently, no- not a gag. It was a change that never went back. Now, not only is the channel/show image for ‘WTAF’ here on Ickonic (also the profile image on YouTube) totally AI- it’s an AI cartoon of an old photo that was actually real! Why??

Every single episode now has AI artwork. Someone is actively sitting down at Ickonic, pulling up an AI bot, writing a prompt for an AI image generation per episode and is apparently happy with what it plops out. Saves it, uploads it to the website and is pleased with this. Occasionally, for episodes about the negative effects of AI. Cool. Am I the only one seeing that this is insanely hypocritical? 

Gaz is using a ChatGPT created image for his profile photo for his ‘Gareth Icke’ YouTube channel now. Why??? The ‘Bring The Fire’ logo and splash page is also AI. Why???? I beg of you, Gareth, please don’t bring AI to your other channel, ‘The Walk’- the only one left without the smooth gloss of AI plastered all over it. Your content is gorgeous and special. It doesn’t need AI. ‘WTAF’ didn’t need it either. An AI cartoon representation of your face is just weird. Nevermind the ‘real vs fake/altering perception’ discussion- but Gaz, of all people, knows what these AI data power centers are doing to the countryside in the UK. Microsoft is investing £22 billion in the UK AI sector- including four new data centers- sites in Leeds, Newport (in Wales), and in Acton and they’re expected to be completed between 2027 and 2029. I bet some old Victorian train line relics will be erased for the massive amounts of space they’ll need for those behemoths. The waterways too will be irreparably damaged.. Anyway. I don’t even live in the UK. If enough people stopped using AI daily and weekly, maybe they would slow the spread of these dystopian things.

We know the cult won’t ever stop but… slowing the spread is at least something, right?

Jaymie has dedicated entire episodes of ‘Trending’ about the use of AI; “kills creativity and snatches jobs from actual humans and is a powerful tool to dumb down the population”… but yet….? There’s plastic, fake AI images all over the Ickonic website. For over a year now, we’ve been watching as AI is taking over everything and seeing it slip into Ickonic too? Just disappointing. We listen and nod when you guys talk about the evil AI encapsulates and what sort of tool it is for the transhumanization agenda of the planet, misleading the kids today and also the masses so that nobody can tell what’s real anymore- by design. Yet we see this week’s ‘WATF’ is called ‘De Arrested Development’ ….with an AI image of a Funco Pop- style policeman behind bars, lookin’ super sad. Cool. 

Maybe I’m the weirdo who thinks it’s hypocritical and out of place. Just another dumb American who really isn’t that welcome watching Ickonic anyway- that’s the other reason I cancelled my membership- the constant digs as those of us who support you guys but just happen to live in the US. Jaymie, for one, clearly has an abysmally low opinion of all of us, solely based on where we grew up and where we live. I watch anyway but stopped sending money since I know Jaymie kinda-sorta hates me because of where my birth certificate was issued and who runs my horrible country. Neither of which were my doing but… that’s fine. 

I just feel that AI doesn’t have a place at Ickonic’s table and isn’t good enough to share the air with those of you who keep trying to expose the truth. Even if some these don’t think I’m worthy to watch.

 

[Josh]

Hello Hviteulf! I definitely see your point with the use of AI art on the channel, and while I can’t give you the internal opinion of this without overstepping my role, I can tell you that Jaymie doesn’t have any personal disdain for us yanks (I live in Tennessee). What I can tell you about the AI discussion is there is a debate around it at the company that isn’t as blithe as it may appear given its use on the platform. I sincerely appreciate the feedback, and am sorry to see you go. We never want anyone to feel alienated, and we always want to keep our integrity with our use of technology across all disciplines. 

[Hviteulf]

Thanks for the reply and the explanation, Josh.

As a global society, we’re not going to get away from AI. It’s impossible because of the path the cult has paved for us all and that’s.. just how it is now. A knife can slice bread for a hungry child but can also commit heinous atrocities. AI was designed with good intentions, back when it was only known for auto-fill/auto-correct (since that’s really what an LLM is at its core base code), but it’s obviously been easy for those techbros to get a little carried away. 

So, all I’m saying is if Ickonic is going to use AI for hundreds of images and designs every single day- yet hate on it every single day, at least an explanation about that would be probably a good idea. Question everything, right? 

I’m very happy to see Gareth changed his YouTube channel profile image back to a real photo of him rather than the creepy AI image of his face. Probably has nothing at all to do with my rant here but made me smile nonetheless. ✨

[rosieblunn]

I think this is a really good point, and perhaps even worse that I hadn’t really consciously noticed the AI content, apart from the WTAF titles. (I have now finally managed to get Ickonic working on the Roku again, yay, so not watching it on youtube). I just don’t want to be looking at crappy AI generated images, at all, the idea of it is now giving me the creeps! It sometimes takes me a while to figure out what has been made with AI, and sometimes it still has to be pointed out to me, but when I do I feel somehow dirty and  cheated. TBF I am a bit Old Skool, well just old, haha. I have 2 daughters who work in the graphics/illustration field, and I have done in the past and still a visual artist, so I am well aware of the dangers of the insidious infiltration of this technology. I’m thinking this may even be a great topic for an Ickonic documentary (not just visual arts but what’s happening in music is also shocking).

as i write this some bot is helpfully correcting my spelling and grammar , hahaha! Just sayin

Just want to add that I do love Ickonic too, and hoping this will be taken in the spirit of constructive criticism , from a slightly older lady in the UK xx

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