The AI-Sponsored Self Destruct of Influence

Momentum for the creator economy could fade...

We haven’t devoted much space to AI related stories due mostly to the vast overload of perspective already in the public domain. However, a new and relevant issue has surfaced that demands our analysis, as AI fueled content lights a match under creator credibility.

There’s been much heavy breathing in the marketing-sphere about the outsized influence of influencers, because of their perceived credibility and authenticity. However, the surge in AI generated post content is causing a reverse effect, diluting the trust and believe-ability of the citizen critic and testimonialist.?

How did we get here?

Marketing trades are resplendent with stories extolling the importance of influencers and creators to brand communication. Money seems to be (over)flowing in that direction to fund influencer tactics. Yet the very ubiquity of these voices is increasingly fueled and enabled by AI tech that automates post content, images and video clips.?

We are now treading water in a sea of content overload. ?The bar to entry has been sufficiently lowered in this micro to nano-sized zone of creator voices because anyone with a smart phone camera and AI tool can publish in a heartbeat. A challenge is bubbling up questioning the veracity and credibility of creator driven outreach because machine enabled content defies the entire concept of authenticity.

The ease of AI infiltration inevitably lowers the expertise threshold by digitally out-sourcing the content heavy lifting, as if quantity were somehow more vital than quality and its sibling editorial integrity.?

Is influencer cred fading?

• Amazon web services now estimates that 57% of online content is made using an AI platform. Wow…?
• A study from Deloitte reports that 7 out of 10 consumers believe AI is ruining user experience by making it harder to trust what they view online?
• Two thirds of consumers are increasingly worried they could be fooled or scammed?
• According to Ypulse, 45% of 13 to 22 year-olds say influencers are losing their influence, while 61% convey the more ads influencers participate in the less they are ultimately believed

Is authenticity then diluted with deployment of AI generated content?

In a word, yes. Especially in the absence of transparency by the contributor. Truth is hard to come by. Trust operates at an enormous premium. AI content should be flagged as such so those who engage can determine what to think or do about the material presented.

Emergent’s experience with AI content leads us to believe the most vibrant and exciting future for this technology lies in other arenas of value (which we will touch on a bit later), rather than attempting to operate as a reporter in areas of subject matter where trust and authenticity are paramount.

We have experimented here with prompts to build content and found the output to be concise, clinical, organized and yet totally devoid of the passion, creativity and nuance that human creators can offer to precious audiences. We’ve tried feeding original content while asking for improvements and embellishments only to experience the same textbook-like outcomes.

What are we really trying to do here?

Surface vs. the deep and abiding: as creators are we simply in the business of crunching and organizing information? Or are we translating experience layered with the texture of our rich personal backgrounds and stories that add humanity to the equation (as only a human can do).

Awareness vs. real connection: we are all emotional creatures. We can aggregate facts, figures, tables, studies, and AI whip-smart organized versions of same. But it frankly pales in comparison to the power of emotional equity springing from personal anecdote polished by our lives and passions.

Informing vs. convincing: we can deliver a boatload of statistics culled from thousands of archival reports and analyses. Except that people are not fact-based decision-making machines. Or we can immerse the audience in the outcomes of personal experience, the wisdom of hard knocks that rise out of failures with improved perspective. The human chronicle of what happens now and next.

A legacy cheat from the old world of command-and-control marketing is the conceit of chasing awareness aided by specifications supporting product superiority claims. None of that will empower our real decisions or actions like stories from human experience -- our passions, beliefs, loves and the messy details of being alive as we know it.

I sum, AI may end up undermining the creator economy aided by growing consumer side-eye and suspicion around the origins of what’s being presented. In fact, people may get proficient at discerning what was generated by an AI source vs. the influencer themselves. Better to confirm upfront who is the real author, originator and voice.

The future of AI

You might think from this discussion that we’re naysayers on AI. To the contrary, for example we now rely on AI to generate images for our posts because it’s a creative path to the metaphor.

In fact, AI will eventually occupy the importance in our lives we now attribute to smart phone tech. Here’s a terrific agentic AI impact example from Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s interview in FastCompany:

“We’ll see other AI elements emerge… Think of something as simple as navigating. Imagine if you don’t know where you want to go. You get in the car, and say, “I’m hungry.” And the car says, “Well, what do you feel like?” And you say, “I don’t know.” And it says, “Well, yesterday you had Italian. What do you feel about burritos today?” And, you know, so just the ability to be conversational and contextual. It’ll be one of those kinds of changes, I think, where it’ll happen, we won’t even fully realize it’s happening. And then we’ll look back and be like, how did we used to live?”

AI overuse may end up jeopardizing the authenticity foundation of creator economy bona fides. Unless, transparency can worm its way in as a standard, and then creators can decide if it’s their own voice that matters rather than machine-enabled content for contents’ sake. For our part we’re jumping with excitement over ChatGPT’s new Deep Research capability that will help continuously feed our overwhelming appetite for study in client business categories.

If this discussion has you discussing the complex shifts in influence strategy, use the link below to ask questions and start a conversation.

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Bob Wheatley is the CEO of Chicago-based Emergent. Traditional brand marketing often sidesteps more human qualities that can help consumers form an emotional bond.?Yet brands yearn for authentic engagement, trust and a lasting relationship with their customers. For more information, contact [email protected] and follow on Twitter @BobWheatley.