Creators: AI Is the Future. We Need to Be Transparent About Using It

Artificial intelligence is here and can’t be ignored, which one creator summed up neatly with a matter-of-fact comment. “I do voice acting as well, and so I’m already preparing for my job to not exist,” said Vincent Marcus, a creator and comedian who does impersonations, about why he’s gone all-in on AI. Marcus was speaking on Tuesday at TheWrap’s inaugural AI Creator Day, a part of our annual Grill business conference. The subject of the panel was about voicing AI-generated bot characters for AI social platform Cantina, which offers the potential for him to monetize his creativity. Being able to better monetize creator ideas and imagination was a key theme to the all-day conference. But an undercurrent was the inevitability of AI, and the perils of ignoring the technology that’s disrupting every industry. For creators, it’s a fine line to walk, with even the hint of using AI eliciting fan backlash. But for those at the panel, the upside of AI is too attractive to ignore. “This is where the future is heading,” said Rebecca Zamolo, a YouTube and founder of MOLO Fertility. “I think it’s important that we acknowledge that. I think it’s about being transparent with your audience.” Moderator Chris Detert with Rebecca Zamolo and Matt Slays, a husband-and-wife creator team. (Credit: Photo by Randy Shropshire for TheWrap) As AI has become more prevalent, more creators have been using the technology in their workflows. Some creators use this tech through third-party companies like Cantina; some use popular AI platforms like ChatGPT and Claude directly, and some use AI tools that have been directly added to the biggest social media platforms. For example, YouTube’s AI tools let creators A/B test headlines and thumbnails, and Ask Studio — the platform’s AI-powered Q&A offering — acts as a specialized AI agent that’s fluent in a creator’s channel, a feature that’s helpful for data analytics. TikTok has its Symphony Creative Studio, a generative suite that lets creators use AI to create text-to-video, image-to-animation and digital avatars. As for Instagram, the Meta-owned platform has Muse, a personal AI agent designed to help Instagram creators manage workflows, analyze account activity and plan content Zamolo and husband Matt Slays talked about how AI dubbing of its content has extended the reach of their YouTube channel. Slays noted that its channel went from having 65% of its audience being in the U.S. to 35% in short time (he didn’t specify), noting the wider international audience it now gets “We were able to exponentially grow our markets without doing as much,” Slays said. Don’t hate the game Shira Lazar acknowledged the stigma of the “AI creator” and polled several participants about what they should do it about it. “We don’t get to decide,” said Destorm Power, an entrepreneur and creator. “If they want to call me an AI creator, that’s fine.” “The game is changing, we’re just in the game,” said Bernie Su, head of creative for Pickford and an Emmy-winning web series creator. “We’ll do our thing. Audiences will react to us, and we’ll see what happens.” Zamolo acknowledged that they’re still testing the boundaries with what is and isn’t okay with AI. “If it gets crazy, they usually will call us out in the comments,” she said. “But I think that’s just part of learning how to use it correctly anyway.” But one of the key ideas several participants stressed was dispelling the notion that AI was killing creativity. Instead, that’s something that’s in greater need as the technology allows people to bring to life their wildest ideas. “Everyone’s creative. Get those ideas out there. Write them down,” said Katherine Rundell, senior director of partnerships at Cantina. “Keep those ideas flowing. Creativity is more important than ever in the age of AI. Lean into that.” Q: I guess do you get any pushback from my past provision from other creators? You know, even being here, I think that you saw some creators that are like instead coming here to talk about this, and others that are scared because they get a lot of pushback from the audience. Are you ever worried about it, guys. A (Rebecca Zomolo speaking):