No Kitty Kitty: An Artificial Intelligence Experiment
On Saturday July 22, the Tasmanian Craft Fair shared a post of a ‘grandma and her big knitted cats”. Some viewers picked up pretty quickly that it was AI and we admitted this quickly in the comments, but it didn’t take long to become the highest performing post we’ve made…in 4 years!
We did receive some direct messages alerting us this is AI, but we have chosen to give it 24 hours to share the experiment.
Our social media and marketing is managed by Effective Naturally as part of a long-term community sponsorship by them to help the Tasmanian Craft Fair reach full potential. This includes digital transition which has seen audiences grow by over 800% online since they started with us pre-COVID. But every year there are new challenges to overcome, and AI and the arts, is the big one for 2023 and beyond.
We ran an experiment…
It highlights a new generation of creativity that competes with human ideas and realities.
So what did the experiement show…
The Experiment around AI
The Hypothesis
That imagery created by Artificial Intelligence would attract more attention and engagement than a real post.
The Outcome
The crocheted cats registered over 100 engagements each hour (and that includes an overnight period). 1828 engagements in between 9pm and 3pm, including 69 shares! This is more than 6x the amount of organic engagement in the first 24 hours of any post we’ve EVER made for the craft fair (excluding paid content).
Why does it happen?
Several factors could be contributing to this phenomenon:
Novelty and Creativity: AI-generated images can be unique, imaginative, and visually striking. They may incorporate styles, colours, and patterns that are not commonly seen in real photos, making them stand out and capture users' attention.
Virality and Shareability: Due to their novelty, AI-generated images might have a higher likelihood of being shared and going viral on social media platforms. People are often drawn to and intrigued by new and unusual content, leading to increased engagement and visibility.
Customisation and Personalisation: AI-generated images can be tailored to specific preferences, interests, or demographics of social media users. As a result, they may resonate more with targeted audiences and receive higher engagement levels compared to generic real photos.
Aesthetic Appeal: AI algorithms are continually improving, and they can create visually appealing images that cater to the current trends and aesthetics prevalent on social media platforms. Such images may be more aesthetically pleasing to users, leading to higher engagement.
Algorithmic Bias and Preference: Social media platforms often use algorithms to determine which content is shown to users. If the platform's algorithm favours AI-generated images due to their previous success or high engagement, they may be promoted more frequently, leading to further exposure and outranking real photos.
Brand and Marketing Usage: Businesses and influencers may utilise AI-generated images for marketing campaigns, leading to more sponsored content featuring AI visuals. These campaigns may be well-designed, targeted, and highly engaging, contributing to their prominence on social media.
Inauthenticity and Misinformation: On the flip side, the use of AI-generated images could lead to concerns about authenticity and the spread of misinformation. People may be curious about or intrigued by such images, leading them to click and engage with them, even if they are aware that they are AI-generated.
It's important to note that social media trends and user behaviour can change rapidly, and the reasons behind AI images outranking real photos may vary depending on specific circumstances and platform dynamics.
What can we do about it?
It doesn’t matter how much an Artist may try to “delight and surprise”, how will reality ever match fantasy? And once our viewers become attached to the dopamine hit based on that fantasy, the challenge will always remain to replicate that dopamine hit for something that is real and possible. The challenge will remain for artisans to create things that one could only once wonder about!
You can help by sharing your favourite exhibitors at the fair as much as you would for an unknown computer-generated image! The craft fair celebrates genuine people who have honed a craft to make dreams a reality. Follow our social channels as we share more of their stories in the coming months.
There’s no better way to tell what is and isn’t real than to visit in the flesh. Early Bird tickets go on sale on August 1, 2023 with a chance to win a $500 voucher to spend at one of our real-life exhibitors at this year’s Tasmanian Craft Fair.
Here’s a twist, part of this response was written by AI, can you tell which?