The amount of AI-generated images I’m seeing online is growing exponentially by the day. A common clickbait pattern I keep running into is the “sad child holding their artwork” trope. The script is always the same: a teary-eyed kid clutching a piece of art they supposedly made, accompanied by some AI-written caption from a “parent” begging for encouragement.
And sad to say, this ruse works like a charm eliciting floods of “cheer up little man” replies, gushing praise, and even people offering to buy the nonexistent artwork. And we all know where that leads: a one-way ticket to Scamville! What saddens me is how few people actually see through this. In the groups I’m in, I’d estimate 90% or more are fooled and the few people who point out that the post is AI get tons of negative comments, basically calling them a hater or a spoil-sport...
Up until recently, I avoided weighing in on AI. I thought maybe it could serve as a legitimate tool—something artists might combine with their own skills. But the reality I see every day is that it’s being used for cheap clickbait, recycled memes (baby Theo Von, anyone?), and hollow, AI-narrated videos.
That became even clearer when I tried to use AI (ChatGPT, specifically) while researching a case for a true crime/mystery podcast I’m producing. I asked for help on the timeline, and it got basic facts—like dates of events and even names of the people involved—completely wrong. In short, I don’t trust this shit…
At all.
And neither should you.
“Cheer up little man, almost no one can tell you are AI slop!”