The Artisan Crafting AI Content Manually

Mu isn’t the only comedian attempting to capture the essence of AI-generated videos, but he truly excels in incorporating all the elements: the awkward bodily movements, the blank facial expressions, and the erratic plot twists. Many viewers, myself included, were astonished by how accurately he portrayed the spirit of AI slop videos.

Mu shares that the half-dozen AI imitation videos he has created represent just a fraction of his acting journey. Aspiring to be an actor since college, he spent the summer following his freshman year at Hengdian World Studios—the largest film studio in the world—seeking background acting roles. He began crafting comedy sketches on Chinese social media in 2019, and now, content creation occupies most of his time.

The popularity of his AI imitation videos secured him a sponsorship from a Chinese generative AI company, which compensated him 80,000 RMB (approximately $11,000) to create two additional sketches promoting their video model. While that’s a decent arrangement, I genuinely anticipated Mu would receive more opportunities due to his global reach.

As part of the sponsorship, Mu produced two versions of the sketches: one incorporating AI-generated footage and the other without. He secretly hoped the advertiser would prefer the version that showcased human acting skills prominently. However, the advertiser selected the AI-included option. “It feels like that’s starting to take jobs away from human actors, doesn’t it?” Mu remarks.

Last week, Mu appeared on my timeline again, releasing a sequel to his first AI imitation series, this time imitating videos produced by Sora, OpenAI’s latest generative video tool. His new video is much more nuanced but still captures that inexplicably unsettling sensation that persists even as AI videos evolve.

Mu expresses that there’s an ongoing battle as AI progresses, but it’s not man versus machine. Instead, the real conflict lies between humans and other humans who develop AI models, with both sides constantly attempting to outdo the other. “We’re poking fun at some of AI’s quirks, its eeriness, and absurdity, but the AI creators are likely refining those aspects, too. This year’s AI already seems much more human,” Mu says.

How to Act Like AI

Before creating his first AI imitation sketch in July 2024, Mu watched numerous AI slop videos to analyze their common characteristics. He aimed to grasp the types of errors AI often makes and then replicate them in his own scripts.

For instance, when an object appears in the frame, AI frequently misinterprets its intended purpose. A hanger can be used to hang clothes, but in some cases, it also becomes a tool for physical discipline by parents in China. This duality inspired one of Mu’s videos from last year, in which, while pretending to hit his “son” with a hanger, the boy’s shorts unexpectedly come off, causing Mu to appear as if he suddenly forgot his actions and decided to hang up the shorts instead.