The video sharing service YouTube continues to be an excellent platform for history buffs to find compelling and informative content. There is no shortage of creators – from The History Guy to Brandon Fisichella – who have carved out a niche with their channels. Others like History Matters, OverSimplified, and Simple History also stand out for their innovative story telling.
Yet, there has been a wave of AI-generated channels that could displace the hardworking creators. Worse than it just taking the jobs from those who have succeeded in making a living from their informative videos is that some of the content is filled with historical errors, and even some bias.
History Written By AI!
It has been long said that “history is written by the winners,” but if history is written by AI, we could all end up losers!
“We should be worried about low-quality AI-generated content displacing – or even replacing – the thoughtful and nuanced work of people in the field, but that is why it is the responsibility of educators to ensure that history is taught as more than simply a series of events hung on dates and names,” explained Wayne Hickman, assistant professor of Educational Leadership at Augusta University’s College of Education and Human Development.
Hickman said he also believes that students should be taught critical media skills so that they are better able to discern the quality, accuracy, and bias of what they are viewing.
“What is particularly troubling to me is how convincing low-quality content can appear, especially to the casual viewer,” Hickman warned. “Without historical thinking and media literacy skills, it can be difficult to distinguish between a credible historical narrative and inaccurate sensationalism, which, in turn, poses a clear risk in how historical events are understood and internalized.”
AI-Generated Content Could Ruin Viewer Trust
There is no denying that among aficionados of all things from the past, YouTube has become a go-to platform. Yet, this wave of AI-created content could change that perception.
“There has to be a basic foundation of facts, evidence, and knowledge underpinning the experience. Without that, it’s not education – and it’s certainly not history,” suggested Laura Graham, public relations professional and faculty member at North Carolina Central University. “It’s entertainment at best, and dangerous misinformation or voyeurism at worst.”
A question to ask is, what is the intent behind the creation. For many of those top creators, there is the love of history, but with the AI-generated content that may not be the case.
“Are you trying to engage with history or just monetize it? You can quickly create these ‘faceless videos’ where every step is completed solely through AI tools, and without any fact-checking or analysis to make sure what is being produced is accurate,” said Graham. “You can get a lot of views that way, but you’re not providing value.”
Such content isn’t likely to resonate with millennials and gen-Zers, who tend to care a lot about authenticity, and accuracy.
“When a modern coffee cup was accidentally left in a scene from Game of Thrones, there were huge numbers of posts pointing out the flub,” Graham noted, but warned that the same doesn’t happen with some of the AI-generated content.
Mistakes or other errors are common with such content.
“Steven Colbert coined the term ‘truthiness’ that Miriam Webster now defines as a ‘seemingly truthful quality that is claimed for something not because of supporting facts or evidence but because of a feeling that it is true or a desire for it to be true.’ Some people are more interested in the ‘feeling’ these videos generate than they are in the actual lives and events they purport to show,” said Graham.
Graham’s son Krestel, who is a third year filmmaking student at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, added that artists may be concerns with their jobs be taken, but the bigger worry is that their skills are now being devalued by the technology.
“Using AI is worse than using an actual creative person, because the output looks awful, and a lot of people don’t like looking at AI-generated work,” Krestel Graham continued. “But, the people creating these AI videos are trying to make money, not art, and they don’t realize or don’t care how bad these things look. It’s heartbreaking to realize that some people can’t recognize the impact or importance of what artists do.”
