It has been said for a long time that “history is written by the winner,” but when history is written by AI, we … more
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Video sharing service YouTube continues to be an excellent platform for History Buff to find compelling and informative content. From the Man of History to Brandon Fischella, there’s no shortage of creators who have carved out their niches on their channels. The issues of history, oversimplification, and other things that make simple history stand out when it comes to telling their innovative stories.
But there was a wave of channels generated by AI that could replace hardworking creators. What’s worse than taking on a job from people who have managed to make a living from useful videos is that some of the content is filled with historical errors and some biases.
History written by AI!
It has been said for a long time that “history is written by the winner,” but when history is written by AI, we all became losers!
“We need to worry about low-quality AI-generated content that replaces or replaces the thoughtful and nuanced work of people in our field, but it is the responsibility of the educators to ensure that history teaches as more than a series of events that rest on dates and names.”
Hickman also believes that students should be taught critical media skills, allowing them to better identify the quality, accuracy and bias of what they see.
“What’s particularly bothering me is how compelling the low-quality content is, especially for casual viewers,” warned Hickman. “Without historical thinking and media literacy skills, it can be difficult to distinguish between reliable historical narratives and inaccurate sensationalism.
AI-generated content can ruin audience trust
There is no denying that YouTube has become a go-to platform among enthusiasts of everything in the past. However, this wave of AI-generated content can change that perception.
“There must be a fundamental foundation of facts, evidence and knowledge that underpins experience. Without it, it is not education. And it certainly isn’t history,” suggested Laura Graham, a public relations expert and faculty at North Carolina Central University. “It’s entertainment at best, and at worst it’s dangerous misinformation and voyeurism.”
The question to ask is what is the intention behind creation? For many of these top creators, there is a love for history, but there is AI-generated content that may not.
“Are you trying to get involved in history or just monetize it? You can quickly create these ‘faceless videos’ without fact-checking or analysis to ensure that all the steps are completed only through AI tools, and that what is being created is accurate,” Graham said. “You can get that much of an opinion, but it doesn’t provide value.”
Content like this is unlikely to resonate with millennials and Gen-Zers who tend to care a lot about authenticity and accuracy.
“When modern coffee cups were accidentally left in the Game of Thrones scene, a huge number of posts pointed out Flav,” Graham noted, but warned that the same thing wouldn’t happen with some of the AI-generated content.
Incorrectness and other errors are common in such content.
“Stephen Colbert coined the term “truthiness,” which Miriam Webster defines the term “truthiness” as the seemingly quality of truth, which he claims is “asserted because of the sense that it is true or that he wants it to be true, rather than supporting fact or evidence.” Some people are interested in the “emotions” that these videos produce, and are intended to live and show them,” Graham said.
Graham’s daughter Crestel, a third-year film-making student at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, added that artists may be concerned about their work, but the bigger concern is that their skills are now being downplayed by technology.
“Using AI is worse than using real creative people because the output looks terrible and many people don’t like seeing the work generated by AI,” continued Krestel Graham. “But the people who make these AI videos are trying to make money, not art. They don’t understand or care how bad these things are. It’s heartbreaking for some people to realize that they can’t recognize the impact or importance of what an artist does.”
