I’m tired of pretending AI-generated videos are “amazing.”
They’re not.
They’re uncanny. Uncomfortable. Unnatural.
But scroll through LinkedIn and you’ll see influencers gushing over obvious AI avatars with captions like:
“Look how realistic this is!”
“The future is here!”
“Can you even tell it’s AI?”
Yes. Yes I can. And so can everyone else with a discerning eye.
The Real Problem Isn’t the Technology
The issue isn’t with AI video technology itself. It’s promising and rapidly evolving. The real problem is our collective willingness to lower our standards in the face of novelty.
We’ve become experts at mistaking “impressive for its category” with “actually good.”
I’ve sat in rooms where executives applaud mediocre AI outputs. I’ve watched marketing teams approve content that screams “artificial.” I’ve seen leaders make million-dollar decisions based on hype rather than quality.
This matters because standards matter. Your audience isn’t grading on a curve. They’re not thinking “this is good for AI.” They’re thinking “this feels off.”
The Dangerous Recalibration of Excellence
The real danger here goes beyond just poor quality content. It’s about becoming unable to recognize poor quality in the first place.
When we constantly praise mediocre AI outputs, we’re:
- Recalibrating our standards downward
- Mistaking “better than before” for “good enough”
- Training ourselves to accept the uncanny valley as normal
- Losing our ability to recognize authentic human communication
Let that sink in. We’re not just producing subpar content—we’re literally changing what we consider acceptable.
The Hype Cycle Is Clouding Our Judgment
Look at any emerging technology and you’ll see the same pattern. The initial excitement around what’s possible overshadows critical evaluation of what’s actually good.
But AI video isn’t just another technology. It’s a medium that attempts to replicate human communication—something we’ve spent our entire lives becoming experts at evaluating.
Your brain has sophisticated neural networks dedicated to detecting the subtle nuances of human expression. That’s why these AI videos feel “off”—you’re noticing microscopic inconsistencies in eye movement, unnatural speech patterns, and awkward transitions that AI hasn’t mastered.
Your Audience Deserves Better
Your audience doesn’t care about your technological achievements. They care about the experience you’re creating for them.
When you present them with AI content that’s “good for AI” but still fundamentally uncanny, you’re asking them to:
- Ignore their instinctive discomfort
- Lower their engagement standards
- Pretend not to notice the artificial elements
- Value novelty over quality
Is that really the relationship you want with your audience?
Maintaining Standards in an AI-Accelerated World
Don’t let algorithm-driven sensationalism cloud your judgment. Don’t accept mediocrity just because it’s novel. Don’t mistake technical achievement for actual excellence.
Here’s how to maintain standards while still leveraging AI:
- Judge outputs by human standards, not AI standards. Ask “Is this good?” Not “Is this good for AI?”
- Listen to your instincts. If something feels off, it probably is. Trust your highly evolved human perception.
- Use AI in augmentative ways rather than as a replacement for human-centered content when quality matters.
- Celebrate real breakthroughs, not incremental improvements that still fall short of human quality.
- Value authenticity over technological novelty in your customer communications.
These principles will serve as your guide when evaluating AI tools and their outputs. By maintaining high standards, you position yourself differently in a market racing to adopt everything new.
Competitive Advantage Through Discernment
While others race to adopt every new AI tool regardless of quality, you have an opportunity to differentiate through discernment.
Your standards are your competitive advantage. Keep them high.
The companies that win won’t be those who adopt AI the fastest—they’ll be those who maintain the highest standards while doing so.
The next time you see an “amazing” AI video that clearly isn’t, remember: it’s okay to acknowledge that the emperor has no clothes.
What AI-generated content have you seen that crossed the line from “impressive for AI” to “actually good”? Or are we still waiting for that breakthrough?
