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AI Social Media... Do We Need This?

WIRED had an article that came out a few days ago titled, “OpenAI Is Preparing to Launch a Social App for AI-Generated Videos.” This is coming on the heels of Meta’s new Vibes, which is a feed in the Meta AI app for “short-form, AI-generated videos.” It’s being reported that the app will be a vertical video feed with swipe-to-scroll navigation, using OpenAI’s recent Sora 2 AI generated video creation technology. Rather than access through ChatGPT, there will just be a standalone Sora app. Presumably, this app will be somewhat of a competitor to the likes of TikTok. The difference here is that all the content on the app will be 100% AI-generated.


See here for the announcement directly from OpenAI
See here for the announcement directly from OpenAI

The app itself has a feature which allows people to upload their likeness to be used in videos. Other users can then decide to use your likeness in their own video creations. You then, of course, get a notification whenever people use your likeness or interact with your created videos. Like most social apps, the idea is to increase time on app and boost daily active user metrics. It’s a tried-and-true playbook at this point.


Already, there are some concerning implications of how Sora 2 can be used. The most popular video on the Sora 2 platform is, ironically, a video of Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, stealing GPUs at a Target. There are still subtle tells and ways of knowing that the video is AI generated, but this is more reason to avoid credulity when faced with controversial claims, videos, and information on the internet. Deepfakes are only going to get more convincing.


Now, if you’re reading this, odds are you find the idea of an app like this to be bizarre and maybe a bit off-putting. You’ve found this blog for a reason. Like so many others, you want a healthier relationship with your smartphone. You’d like it to be a simple and effective tool rather than a vice. That’s why SLEKE exists! To empower people to ditch their smartphone so that they can go out in the physical world and Do Cool Stuff. With a SLEKE phone, there are no tactics you need to employ to minimize your screentime. You don’t need to put an app on your phone that attempts to keep you off your phone. Or set time limits that you can easily bypass. The OS is designed with intention, specifically to eliminate the distracting elements entirely. If it’s not too cliché, getting a SLEKE phone is a way to seize the day!


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We are not meant to live our life on screens. And it’s difficult to imagine this new Sora social app doing anything other than adding to our already collective screen time epidemic. There will certainly be some awesome videos and creations that come out of this, but it just seems like something is missing. We firmly believe that the meaning we are all looking for is out there in the physical realm. We just have to choose. In the words of Gandalf, “all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” We deeply believe that most of our time is not meant to be spent on a screen.


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Further, there’s also some reality worth pointing out here about the implications of the AI boom. According to this report by Deloitte, the massive data center buildouts and power demands are set to grow 30-fold by 2035. The potential implications of this are strained grid reliability and overall, more expensive, less stable energy. Already, we are seeing major price spikes in areas near data centers for average customers, with some increases as much as 267%, as reported here by Bloomberg. And what is the point of all this content? Neil Postman was eerily prescient in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. He said, “What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”


As we’ve said before, ditching your smartphone is not a guarantee that you will then use your time perfectly and wisely. But it does give you the opportunity. And it’s a wonderful opportunity to bring some more balance to your life. Read more books. Do more cool stuff. Ditch the mindless stuff. It just takes the courage to opt out!


We wrote in our article that many Users feel handcuffed to their smartphone. And for justifiable reasons. Work requirements, app-based infrastructure, navigation, staying connected. Blue bubbles over green bubbles. These are real needs. Well, maybe not the blue bubbles thing, but it apparently matters to some people (as noted last week, we are in early testing for an openbubbles integration)!


That is the driving force behind SLEKE. To uncuff you. Making the choice to use a SLEKE phone is a choice rooted in optimism. You make the choice because you see the possibility of a richer existence without predatory tech in your life. We created an OS that prioritizes the utility-based components of a smartphone and rejects the distracting elements that steal your time. Despite our current environment, tech can actually be cool and useful rather than an endless feed of machine-generated noise. You don’t have to accept the premise that your phone will constantly be vying for your time and attention. So why not choose a tool that takes you and your life seriously? One that, when it’s all said and done, may give you back years of your life!


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A good vibe to pair with the SLEKE message is the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Give it a watch for some inspiration!


Go forth and Do Cool Stuff.


~SLEKE.



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