The Man Who Makes AI Slop by Hand

Mui isn’t the only comedian to try to emulate the style of AI-generated videos, but he really nailed all the elements: clumsy body movements, facial expression gaps, and unexpected plot developments. Many viewers, myself included, were shocked at how accurately he captured its essence AI slop video.

Mu tells me that the half-dozen AI simulation videos he’s filmed represent a small part of his acting career. He wanted to be an actor since college and spent the summer after his freshman year at Hengdian World Studios – the world’s largest film studio – looking for background acting opportunities. He started making comedy sketches on Chinese social media in 2019, and content creation now takes up most of his time.

The success of his AI simulation videos earned him a sponsorship deal from a Chinese generative AI company, which paid him 80,000 RMB (about $11,000) to produce two more sketches promoting the company’s video model. It’s not a bad gig, but I honestly hoped Moo would get more opportunities with his global virality.

As part of the sponsorship, Mu shot two versions of the sketch, one with the AI-generated footage embedded and one without it. He secretly hoped the advertiser would choose the latter, as it showcased human acting skills front and center. But the advertiser chose one with AI. “It kind of feels like it’s starting to steal work from human actors, doesn’t it?” Mu said.

Mu popped up on my timeline again last week when he was released A sequel In his first AI simulation series, this time mimicking Video created by SoraOpenAI’s latest generative video tool. His new video is much more subtle but still manages to nail that inexplicably uncomfortable feeling that AI videos have endured even as they become more advanced.

Mu says that as AI accelerates, there’s a perpetual battle, but it’s not man vs. machine. Rather, the conflict is between humans and other humans who create AI models, with each side constantly trying to outdo the other. “We’re making fun of some of AI’s flaws, its weirdness and absurdity, but AI creators are probably improving on those as well. As you can see, this year’s AI already looks a lot more human,” Mu said.

How to act like an AI

Before he made his first AI simulation sketch in July 2024, Mu watched a lot of AI slop videos to study their general characteristics. He wanted to understand the kinds of mistakes AI often makes and recreate them in his own script.

For example, when an object appears in the frame, the AI ​​often mistakes its purpose for being there. For example, a hanger may be used to hang clothes, but it is also often the weapon of choice when parents in China physically punish their children. That inspires dual use Another one In one of Moore’s videos from last year, where midway through pretending to hit his “son” with a hanger, the boy’s shorts mysteriously come off, and Moo looks like he’s suddenly forgotten what he’s doing and decides to hang up the shorts instead.