How to Stand Out in the Ocean of AI Slop | Mick Mahler | TED

I’ve always been drawn to the uncanny -- the slightly creepy. I make movies about spiders playing jazz on their webs, or cockroaches building a rocket to fly to the moon and explore the universe.

I love finding the human in what most people find a bit creepy. So when the first AI images like this appeared, I was not creeped out.

I was really curious. What new ways of filmmaking could this unlock? I started a YouTube channel to find out.

Some of my early experiments were nature documentaries generated using one of the earliest AI-video models.

It was so early that it couldn't even remember what happened half a second ago, which is why it looks like planet Earth on acid -- I imagine, I mean, I wouldn’t know.

(Laughter) My favorite early project, though, was using, back at the time, cutting-edge AI tools to generate the story, the 3D models and even the animation to create a sequel to my favorite Pixar movie, "Ratatouille," of course.

And it became whatever this is: (Video) Gusteau always said that anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.

(Dramatic music) Oh! Help! Help me, Remy!

(Screaming) (Evil cackle) Mick Mahler: So, yeah. (Laughter) Not exactly Hollywood, I know, but I really loved pushing these tools to their limits to see where they'd break.

And as you can see -- they broke pretty fast. But now AI can make almost anything I can imagine, and it’s getting better and easier to use every single day.

That’s amazing, but also kind of terrifying, right? I mean, what happens when everything becomes possible?

Will anyone be able to just prompt a Hollywood blockbuster now? Or will we drown in an ocean of meaningless AI-generated content -- what we now call “AI slop.” I'm actually more optimistic.