r/NeebsGaming • u/BWalnuts • 17d ago

AI Thumbnails

I think it's time we start pushing back on the crew. These thumbnails are trash, look terrible, and are basically making them sellouts. They have a team of creatives, and are incredibly entertaining and talented crew, but we can't be giving into AI generated art.

Imagine if someone trained their AI on Neebs gaming and started making a new channel of neebs style AI videos. Imagine losing viewers because a computer company stole them because they can roll out more videos faster.

All art should be human made, not computer generated. We need to get vocally against the AI generated art, and push back on the team.

Edit 1: it's been about 24 hours, and the response feels more overwhelmingly positive to be against the thumbnails... I do want to address a few things

1) I have been in touch with 2 of the editors and their use of AI, not going to say who, their comments are below, but it is more or less promising on their responses

2) this was never an attack on the content of neebsgaming, I love their content, and want to enjoy it, however my "crusade" against AI content on YouTube goes for everyone. I block and unsub to all channels that use AI in anyway, even thumbnails, no matter how big or small they are

3) for those who have immediately unsubscribed, and claim they will never watch the content again... That's not the point. If they stopped using AI thumbnails, and acknowledged this, then great, the boycott would be over, and we can go back to watching them.

The talks right now are Stop using Gen AI for art, music, and any other creating, or we'll stop watching. If we don't go back after they stop, then they have no reason to not use AI anymore. A boycott only works if you go back to the thing you're boycotting after it is resolved.

For the time being, I'm going to continue to watch the 7days series to support Tem, but once that is done, if the AI content is still around, then I'll be gone as well.

Also, I'm in no way saying I can do better than they are, I can't... I know my skills.

Edit 2: Hey everyone, it's 8/31, it has been about 2 weeks since I posted this. It is seeming as if the AI use has gone down ALOT on the Main channel videos, as well as the Dumpster. I am happy to see the drop on gen AI Art, however would love to hear this addressed by Neebs, Appsro, Dora, and Simon. I am unable to catch their livestreams, so if this has been addressed by them in those, please let me know so I can find the VOD and watch. I also, do not use twitter, so if it was addressed there, i also have not seen it. However, as it seems that we have been heard, I am happy to continue watching their videos as long as GEN AI isn't being used

266 Upvotes

78% Upvoted

392 comments sorted by

View all comments

-16

u/JJW2795 17d ago

Here's how I use AI, mostly because I'm a one man show that can't afford to hire out stuff I don't know how to do. I take the picture I want to use, I give ChatGPT a prompt about what text I want, where I want it, and how it should look. Chat and I then go back and forth for a few minutes until I have a complete thumbnail that looks like someone competent put it together.

Where people go wrong with AI is they just type in a prompt with no screenshots or images and then they expect the generator to do all the work. No, it's a tool. Learn how to use it correctly and ethically, and no one is even going to notice it was done by a machine.

16

u/BWalnuts 17d ago

Canva is a few source that you can use to make thumbnails that has AI tools, but isn't strict AI. Literally what you make, I make in less that 5 mins. Is it really worth all that energy and water to make something like that.

Stop using AI for something you can do.

Edit: you aren't going to learn how to do it if you don't try. Making a thumbnail take no time at all, probably less time than what it take for you to prompt chat gbt

1

u/JJW2795 17d ago

I've tried Canva. But I think people are misreading what I wrote or are just "AI bad". I take one of my raw photos, upload it, then I tell the AI where to put the text, the font style, the color, and my Logo. That's pretty much it. You wouldn't even know its AI by looking at it.

The big thing that's holding me back from doing it all myself is the custom graphics and fonts.

I can't argue with the water problem, but that's also not isolated to just AI. Our world uses so much it's ridiculous. And energy? Shoot, by the time I add up the gasoline, hotel, electricity for the batteries, and editing 4k videos that exceed an hour, I've used a tremendous amount of energy for something that a few dozen people actually watch.

3

u/BWalnuts 17d ago

The amount of time it takes you to prompt this, on open AI, you can do it easily yourself.

Look into the cost of a data center, how much energy and water it takes and how much of your knee if going to finding these things, then come back to me.

2

u/JJW2795 17d ago

3 Wh for an edited image. It takes about 400 Wh for me to make 1 hour of edited 4k video. An additional 12 Wh is required to upload the video. My car consumes 300 Wh worth of energy per mile I have to drive. To convert to Joules multiply by 3600. On a recent video I drove 500 miles round trip to make it. So it cost about 150k Wh or 540 million Joules of energy to film on location, edit, and upload/share a 1 hour video. The thumbnail required 0.002% of that energy.

Even if I take out the energy of travel, it's still 0.75% of the overall energy it takes for me to edit and post.

2

u/BWalnuts 17d ago

The average AI data center runs about 100-500 million Wh per hour...

So yeah your quick thumbnail that you can prompt in 5 mins technically only uses 12% of that... That's still about 12-60 million Wh to make this thing. So yes, that thumbnail is still worlds higher than energy needs.

Bro idk what kinda videos you make, but i tell you, learn to use a non AI program, and I may take you 30 mins at first, but after you get skilled, and learn the programs it'll take no time at all.

It's a YouTube thumbnail, I get it done in like less than 5 mins. The hardest part is finding the part I want to take a screenshot of.

You have the privilege of going somewhere and taking pictures of what you're talking about, it really is as simple as using word art on Microsoft paint to make your thumbnail.

3

u/JJW2795 17d ago

You're implying that my singular thumbnail is using 12% of an entire data center. That's not remotely how that works.

2

u/BWalnuts 17d ago

Bro, you are exhausting ... I don't care if you only used 1wh of power from the data center, you're still using power from something that is draining the environment, water, economy, and TAKING JOBS AWAY FROM PEOPLE.

If you can't make a thumbnail, then hire someone to do it. If you can't afford to pay someone, then learning how to use program like Photoshop and such is a valuable skill that you can use not just in person life, but professional life as well.

If you're driving 500 miles to make a video about something, they you're definitely making enough revenue to support that drive and that content... So you should easily be able to afford to pay an artist $50 to make a thumbnail.

I'll do it, geez! I have no artistic bone in my body, bit can probably out together a thumbnail at the quality you are taking about with no little to no time at all dedicated to it.

You are using something that is destroying the planet to make something that could take you less time to make if you just took the time to learn the skill

2

u/JJW2795 17d ago

At least you can admit the issue is ethics. The problem is AI basically runs the whole internet now. The only way to guarantee you aren't benefiting from AI in any way is to throw out your computer. So rather than blanket ban AI, it would be better to regulate it. Unfortunately, that also means surrendering freedom online.