WEBVTT - Either Fake or Being Paid

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, they're either fake or they're being paid. It's one

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<v Speaker 1>more thing I'm strong.

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<v Speaker 2>And before we get to whatever that is, I think

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<v Speaker 2>I know the answer to this question. I don't know

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<v Speaker 2>if I can set you up for it. I don't

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<v Speaker 2>know if I would be the right way to set

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<v Speaker 2>you up for it. I know what your answer is, though,

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<v Speaker 2>that one of your least favorite sensations is stickiness. Sticky.

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<v Speaker 2>And so Jensen, who's our fill in newsperson, while Katie

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<v Speaker 2>is out, made these delicious treats she brought in, and

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<v Speaker 2>they're great. They're like a some sort of bread, cinnamon

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<v Speaker 2>bread with caramel and nuts and apple apple. Yeah, but

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<v Speaker 2>they're cutt into little finger squares. Everybody's picking them out

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<v Speaker 2>of there with their fingers and you get caramel on

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<v Speaker 2>your fingers and my hands are sticky and I can't

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<v Speaker 2>get rid of it. Sticky? Why is? And then I

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<v Speaker 2>was thinking about why is sticky so annoying? From an

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<v Speaker 2>ever polutionary standpoint? Is there some reason an interesting would

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<v Speaker 2>human beings just naturally be appalled by being sticky? You know?

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<v Speaker 1>It was funny. Appalled is exactly the right word. I

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<v Speaker 1>was playing golf not long ago with a buddy of

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<v Speaker 1>mine and we're in his golf cart and and he's like,

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<v Speaker 1>my god, my steering wheel is sticky? How did this

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<v Speaker 1>get sticky? Why is this sticky? What happened? And he's

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<v Speaker 1>wiping in his hands and he's just he's appalled. It's

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<v Speaker 1>not like, oh that's weird, it's wet. No, it's like,

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<v Speaker 1>oh my god, why is it sticky?

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<v Speaker 2>So how did he something? Maybe did I don't know,

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<v Speaker 2>did dinosaurs leave sticky residue or I don't know what

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<v Speaker 2>it was, but we didn't. We didn't coexist with the dinosaurs.

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<v Speaker 2>That I couldn't be.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I was just gonna let that go. I'm pedantic,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm not that potantic. Could it be that something's

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<v Speaker 1>on you and it's staying on you?

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know, you know way that like if you're wet,

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<v Speaker 2>it'll dry, disease, the plague something. I'll bet there is

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<v Speaker 2>some disease that being sticky was. You didn't really want.

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<v Speaker 1>That, the creeping crud.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I don't like sticky.

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<v Speaker 1>You're right, Sticky steering wheel the worst, Yeah, because you

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<v Speaker 1>have to keep touching it.

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<v Speaker 2>Why is that sticky? Eh? Boy?

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<v Speaker 1>So a couple of stories and I can't decide. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>I was gonna go big on the radio show with them,

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<v Speaker 1>but they're both fairly lengthy. One his excuse me, I

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<v Speaker 1>believe I will be coughing for the rest of my life.

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<v Speaker 1>One of them is at from the New York Times

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<v Speaker 1>talking about these influencers. Both of both of these stories

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<v Speaker 1>are about quote unquote influence culture, whether it's on Instagram,

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<v Speaker 1>which is huge, or TikTok or x or whatever. And

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<v Speaker 1>they mentioned a couple that, of course I've never heard of,

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<v Speaker 1>because I'm mostly repulsed by all of that and it

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<v Speaker 1>seems phony and shallow and stupid to me. But they

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned that a couple of these people's Lil Mikayla and

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<v Speaker 1>mia Zelu, have millions of followers and are generating serious

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<v Speaker 1>income despite the fact that they don't exist. They're entirely

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<v Speaker 1>created by AI.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh wow. When Nancy Pelosi whoever came up with this

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<v Speaker 2>idea first, and that might have been two months ago, Uh,

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<v Speaker 2>was really smart. Why didn't I do that as soon

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<v Speaker 2>as our friend Craig showed us how to do the

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<v Speaker 2>AI thing, I should have created an influencer. Yeah, good

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<v Speaker 2>looking dude who can play the guitar or whatever, and

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<v Speaker 2>then built a thing around him.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, but is like super conservative or whatever. Yeah, maga

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<v Speaker 1>guitar gym here with another you know, whatever the hell

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<v Speaker 1>he's heard a red, white and blue cowboy hat, I

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<v Speaker 1>assume anyway. So, for instance, Nancy Pelosi was at the

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<v Speaker 1>Outside Lands Music's festival taking selfies and took a selfie

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<v Speaker 1>with a popular influencer as two point four million followers

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<v Speaker 1>me vibing to Gracey Adams and I look up and

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<v Speaker 1>it's literally speaker, Pelosi said. The influencer goes by Lowel

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<v Speaker 1>Michaela as she captured the photo in which the two

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<v Speaker 1>are seen smiling. Catch, of course, is that she isn't real.

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<v Speaker 1>She's one of a slew of influencers created through aio

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<v Speaker 1>have gained popularity in recent years despite the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>they don't exist. Me A Zulu Zelu Zelu, a blonde haired,

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<v Speaker 1>blue eyed AI influencer with one hundred and sixty seven

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<v Speaker 1>thousand followers, recently made headlines for attending Wimbledon. A recent

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<v Speaker 1>report by the online creation platform cap Wing found that

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<v Speaker 1>a computer generated celebrities are amassing millions of followers and

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<v Speaker 1>millions of dollars in revenue for the teams behind them.

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<v Speaker 2>This has got to be scaring the hell out of

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<v Speaker 2>actual influencers that whoa is this over? Already? Is the

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<v Speaker 2>era of the influencer? Did it come and go?

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<v Speaker 1>This? Quickly? Listen to this shit? Would you? A Brazilian

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<v Speaker 1>AI influencer with more than eight million Instagram followers who

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<v Speaker 1>serves as the voice of the Brazilian retailer magalou rakes

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<v Speaker 1>in thirty four thousand dollars per post, while low Mikayla,

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<v Speaker 1>who again doesn't exist, makes about seventy thirty thousand, well,

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<v Speaker 1>seventy four thousand dollars per post. Hey, I just got

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<v Speaker 1>a cute little handbag. It's absolutely amazing. Goes with all

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<v Speaker 1>my outfits. I was out clubbing blah blah blah, and

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<v Speaker 1>here it is seventy four thousand dollars per for this

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<v Speaker 1>quote unquote influencer who doesn't exist.

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<v Speaker 2>You know what, it'd be good as a fake little

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<v Speaker 2>kid that tries out toys like the babies the baby

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<v Speaker 2>I saw one the other day. This one was impossible

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<v Speaker 2>to not like. You'd have to have a heart of

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<v Speaker 2>stone to not like because it was baby me.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's entertainment for idiots. I'd reject the entire.

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<v Speaker 2>Genre, but there's nothing cuter than babies laughing. And there

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<v Speaker 2>were these were babies telling jokes to each other and

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<v Speaker 2>they were laughing, and the laughing.

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<v Speaker 1>Baby might get me.

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<v Speaker 2>The laughing babies was one hundred percent dead on. And

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, you can't not enjoy a baby laughing. But

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<v Speaker 2>these babies were telling each other like corny jokes and

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<v Speaker 2>just dying laughing. Oh, I enjoyed that. But if you

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<v Speaker 2>could create a fake baby who's trying out baby products,

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<v Speaker 2>oh that's a gold mine.

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<v Speaker 1>So this little Mikaila thing was introduced in twenty sixteen.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe the original AI influencer has appeared on magazine covers,

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<v Speaker 1>released music, and served as the face of campaigns for

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<v Speaker 1>Calvin Klein and Prada, all while purporting to be a

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<v Speaker 1>Brazilian American teen from Downey, California. She now identifies as

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<v Speaker 1>twenty two, created by a tech company called Dapper Labs,

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<v Speaker 1>which specializes in creating video games and collectibles. Whatever the

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<v Speaker 1>hell that means.

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<v Speaker 2>You want to hear one of the jokes that the

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<v Speaker 2>baby's told. The baby told the other babies that.

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<v Speaker 1>They laugh, I absolutely do.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, Baby's sitting there at the straight face talking to

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<v Speaker 2>his baby friends. Oh boy, our dog ate all the

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<v Speaker 2>scrabble pieces the other day. We had to take him

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<v Speaker 2>to the vet. No word yet.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh and is that's all right, mister president. That's a

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<v Speaker 3>pretty good joke that that that is. I'm going to

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<v Speaker 3>tell that to my wife as soon as we're done here,

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<v Speaker 3>and she.

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<v Speaker 1>Would laugh like a little baby. So the other story

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<v Speaker 1>I want to tell you, which is kind of similarish,

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<v Speaker 1>Jeff Blair was writing about it National Review and it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's about left wing influencers. But he points out there's

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely this on the right. In fact, there have been

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<v Speaker 1>some cases of it that came to the fore on

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<v Speaker 1>the right. So many of these people who are like

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<v Speaker 1>lots of followers, super influential, post all the time about

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<v Speaker 1>politics and stuff, are being paid by organizations like there's

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<v Speaker 1>this organization called Chorus that pays as much as eight

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<v Speaker 1>thousand dollars a month to these people to just constantly

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<v Speaker 1>hammer left wing talking points online. And Jeff writes, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>here's a link to who these people are. He says,

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<v Speaker 1>I haven't heard of any of them. But he says,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm also not hip to like who's really moving and

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<v Speaker 1>shaking among twenty year old college girls online. But yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>these people are making thousands of dollars a month. All

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<v Speaker 1>they have to do is submit all of their content

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<v Speaker 1>to a shady progressive organisation called Chorus for preclearance and

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<v Speaker 1>message approval, while employing the appointed I'm sorry, well, employing

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<v Speaker 1>the appointed talking points of the day, and funneling all

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<v Speaker 1>bookings through their secret paymasters. The contracts reviewed by Wired

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com prohibit standard partnership disclosures, declaring that Creators will

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<v Speaker 1>not publicize the publicize their relationship with Chorus, or tell

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<v Speaker 1>others that they're members of the program without Corus's prior

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<v Speaker 1>written consent. They also forbid Creators from disclosing the identity

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<v Speaker 1>of any funder. Then they get into, of.

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<v Speaker 2>Course, you'd make that part of the deal. We're going

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<v Speaker 2>to give you ten thousand dollars to spout this as

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<v Speaker 2>a twenty one year old about this political position. But

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<v Speaker 2>part of the deal is you're not allowed to say

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<v Speaker 2>we're paying you well.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, right, yeah, yeah, And they get into in

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<v Speaker 1>some of their documents, how hey, it's really great that

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<v Speaker 1>we exist as a nonprofit because we don't have to

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<v Speaker 1>disclose any of our contributors blah blah blah. Non but

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<v Speaker 1>and you can't disclose any of this either.

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<v Speaker 2>I watch out for that. I don't understand. One of

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<v Speaker 2>the reasons I don't understand how the only influencer thing

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<v Speaker 2>works is don't you just assume that they're getting paid

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<v Speaker 2>by whatever that thing is. They're telling you it's so great.

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<v Speaker 2>That's where they're telling you it's so great. Not always,

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<v Speaker 2>but a lot of the time.

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, a lot of the time. And it does

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<v Speaker 1>happen on both sides of the aisle. And anyway, he says,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm gonna I'm gonna read this just because there's

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<v Speaker 1>certain figures on the right who I find abhorrent to readers.

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<v Speaker 1>There's an invisible world out there, a hidden hand, and

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<v Speaker 1>it is driven by money, the dark matter of politics.

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<v Speaker 1>We caught a fleeting glimpse of how foreign money is

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<v Speaker 1>spent on the right at least once over the last

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<v Speaker 1>few years with the Tenant scandal. Recall that there Russian

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<v Speaker 1>intelligence use Canadian cutouts to recruit Lauren Southern Timpoole and

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<v Speaker 1>moral horror show Benny Johnson, among others, to record commentary

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<v Speaker 1>pieces about topics the Russians selected and scripted to advance

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<v Speaker 1>Russia's geostrategic interests among the MAGA right, that was but

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<v Speaker 1>one scandal discovered due to the carelessness of its practitioners.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's stick to the sort of unpleasant insectoid analogy that

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<v Speaker 1>began this piece, and therefore recall the rule of pests.

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<v Speaker 1>If you see one inside your house, rest assured he

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<v Speaker 1>brought company with him. There is far more and worse

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<v Speaker 1>that you can't see, lurking hidden within your walls or

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<v Speaker 1>your floors, a world going on underground.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a pretty clever way look at it.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and then you know what, there's one more part

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<v Speaker 1>that I think is really good. It would be easy

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<v Speaker 1>enough to laugh at Democrats, to dismiss this humiliation as

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<v Speaker 1>yet more evidence that they are an unpopular group of

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<v Speaker 1>sad frauds who need to pay for their online influencers

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<v Speaker 1>the way maladjusted losers frequent brothels. But I ask myself

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<v Speaker 1>where all that Katari and Chinese money goes? And I

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<v Speaker 1>ponder the message coordination of so many rytoid influencers, and

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<v Speaker 1>I begin to wonder. I wonder who on my side,

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<v Speaker 1>or anyone I've taken on good faith in fact secretly

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<v Speaker 1>practices the world's oldest profession.

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<v Speaker 2>A haha, good question.

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<v Speaker 1>My only question is, so when do I get my

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<v Speaker 1>prostitute myself? Do you want us to say variety of

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<v Speaker 1>loathsome regimes?

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<v Speaker 2>What do you want us to say? For how much?

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<v Speaker 2>Every day we're talking about how great Brundei is all

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<v Speaker 2>of a sudden, but we're not. Remember cars.

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<v Speaker 1>When my youngest was studying combination of law and foreign

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<v Speaker 1>policy and that sort of thing and foreign relations, I

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<v Speaker 1>told her, look, you go to work for loathsome regimes

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<v Speaker 1>because they pay better. Put your scruples aside, take the

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<v Speaker 1>sad Russian money, and tell everybody online how Putin's really

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<v Speaker 1>standing up for Christianity.

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<v Speaker 2>The dog ate scrabble pieces took him to the vet.

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<v Speaker 2>No word yet you get it?

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<v Speaker 1>That is so funny. Well, I guess that's it.