Video that has been generated with the use of artificial intelligence is popping up everywhere these days. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is launching a new AI video generating app called Sora, which is causing world-wide headlines this week.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that AI-generated video would infiltrate outdoor media, too. And yet, I have to admit that I was dismayed when I first stumbled upon a video of Kayla, an AI character who offers hunting tips and tactics on the YouTube channel Wild Camo.
The channel description clearly states: “Wild Camo uses AI presentation technology to present hunting strategies in a clear, consistent format. The tactics you’ll learn come from real field experience and expert knowledge, covering everything from scent control and shot placement to reading terrain and timing your hunts.”
But it seems that many viewers do not know that Kayla is not a real person. She is in fact an AI-generated character that reads scripts that are also probably written by AI. And I’m just going out on a limb here, but I’d bet that this YouTube channel is run by a dude.
Some of the comments on recent videos include:
- “Girl, I love the way you know your stuff.”
- “Im a serious hunter, and she really got my attention. I wonder if she needs a hunting buddy.”
- “YOUNG LADY YOU KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE DEER.”
- “U killn it girl”
Perhaps the fact that the AI-generated character appears as a young, attractive woman, who wears tight, skimpy camo clothes and speaks with a light Southern accent has disarmed some viewers. What’s more interesting (and maybe alarming) to me is that the page is also using AI to generate footage of deer.
Only a few commenters have caught on to the fact that Kayla is not a real person. And here’s the thing: the information that the AI-generated character delivers isn’t all that bad. Most of the content is pretty basic, covering information about how hunting pressure impacts deer behavior and how deer sometimes favor acorns over food plots.
But Kayla also states some things as straight fact that simply are not. For example she says that for every 100 yards you walk into public land, you eliminate 50 percent of hunting pressure. Experienced public land hunters know this is just not true in many places. The early videos on this channel are even worse, barely passing for coherent. But it does seem that the AI is being trained and the content is sharpening as time goes on.
A lot of the information delivered on this page is mostly true. Or true with some important caveats. But the same could be said about a lot of hunting content out there.
Luckily, this information isn’t really hurting anyone, at least for right now. The folks who watch Kayla (the page has just over 3,000 subscribers) aren’t at risk of anything other than maybe misquoting some GPS collared deer studies — just so long as they don’t start sending her money.
But the real problem that Kayala represents is that, like the broader public, there’s going to be a segment of the of the hunting community that can’t recognize AI generated video when they see it. And perhaps the next AI character to come along won’t be quite as harmless.
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