Raggydoll Posted December 12, 2025 Posted December 12, 2025 This video made me sad. I really don't like this current trend in the tarot community where creators are having a harder and harder time to support themselves, partly because of AI and also because of the way big companies such as Amazon run their business. If you are able to, show creators some extra love and buy directly from them. Watch the video below if you want to know how to help Ethony out. I don't think it is the least bit strange that she needs to start charging for her moon guides. I have been sharing her moon spreads a lot in the lunar reading circles over the years, so I went ahead and bought a copy. If you want to do the same, you can do it here
KiMo Posted January 3 Posted January 3 This is so awful... I don't watch Ethony much but when I have engaged with her content, I've always been struck by her energy and generosity. I hope she gets the support she needs. Something has to give with all of this dreadful AI rubbish and mega-corporation homogenisation, so many people are suffering!
KiMo Posted January 3 Posted January 3 Thank you very much @Raggydoll, it's really lovely to be back! 2025 well and truly kicked my rear-end but I'm back in the saddle now and I'm looking forward to catching up 😊❤️ I've heard a few people say, including some close to me, that they feel as though there's going to be a tipping point this year and that something is coming... I hope that maybe includes diverting the influence of AI away from our need to be creative and thoughtful beings. We can hope!
Misterei Posted January 4 Posted January 4 (edited) 6 hours ago, KiMo said: ... I've heard a few people say, including some close to me, that they feel as though there's going to be a tipping point this year and that something is coming... I hope that maybe includes diverting the influence of AI away from our need to be creative and thoughtful beings. We can hope! Supposedly YouTube is going to start cracking down on AI slop channels. we shall see. As both a content consumer and creator the proliferation of AI slop is disheartening. i use chatgpt in a very limited way. There is an undeniable convenience. *sigh* But the other day I was talking about some vivid dreams I had and my friend asked if I ever used chatgpt for dream analysis. *facepalm* Hard NO on that! As per Ethony's video. Amazon has gotten worse and worse. I haven't got to a point that I can boycott them 100% but I drastically reduced my usage. They are exploiting and squeezing all their vendors from what I hear. Their review feature is now pretty much broken. You can't filter reviews in any meaningful way any more. Edited January 4 by Misterei
Raggydoll Posted January 4 Author Posted January 4 3 hours ago, Misterei said: Supposedly YouTube is going to start cracking down on AI slop channels. we shall see. I recently heard that a large percentage of their channels now are pure AI. Also, the algorithms are pretty useless because the majority of viewers are kids. That is why very immature (and often AI generated) content is getting promoted and going viral. It’s the same on many other platforms too, so many kids use them so the algorithms get skewed. I like to watch art channels and sketchbook tours on YouTube, but if I search for the most viewed videos on those topics I will end up with stuff made by and/or for kids.
KiMo Posted January 4 Posted January 4 7 hours ago, Misterei said: Supposedly YouTube is going to start cracking down on AI slop channels. we shall see. As both a content consumer and creator the proliferation of AI slop is disheartening. I really hope so, I hope that users get fed up enough to force YouTube into changing their policy. Of the AI videos I've seen, they create yet another echo chamber, repeating the same formula of information over and over again. There's no learning or interest or progression, surely that's not in YouTube's interest if they want to maintain and grow viewer numbers? My partner is a film editor and his industry has been decimated by the obsession with AI. Up until now he would always get work through his agent or by word of mouth / reputation, recently he has had to trawl job listings to find work. It's desperate. The real kicker is the fact that there are listings calling for editors to train AI models to edit, ultimately taking more of their work away. I just can't understand it. 7 hours ago, Misterei said: But the other day I was talking about some vivid dreams I had and my friend asked if I ever used chatgpt for dream analysis. *facepalm* Hard NO on that! With all respect to your friend, yikes!! I'm a humanities academic, and I have a friend who is a science / biology academic. I was joking with her about the stress of having to get a paper submitted and she told me to use ChatGPT to write it. The side-eye I gave her was pretty epic 😂 Jokes aside, I heard about a study out of MIT stating that the use of AI was affecting people's brains and making them less intelligent. I mean, no **** Sherlock! Although like you say, sometimes for a quick data check it can be useful. 8 hours ago, Misterei said: As per Ethony's video. Amazon has gotten worse and worse. I haven't got to a point that I can boycott them 100% but I drastically reduced my usage. They are exploiting and squeezing all their vendors from what I hear. Their review feature is now pretty much broken. You can't filter reviews in any meaningful way any more. Amazon is a total disgrace and a borderline scam at this stage. 4 hours ago, Raggydoll said: I recently heard that a large percentage of their channels now are pure AI. Also, the algorithms are pretty useless because the majority of viewers are kids. That is why very immature (and often AI generated) content is getting promoted and going viral. It’s the same on many other platforms too, so many kids use them so the algorithms get skewed. I like to watch art channels and sketchbook tours on YouTube, but if I search for the most viewed videos on those topics I will end up with stuff made by and/or for kids. I used to enjoy videos about folklore, mythology and iconography but now they're almost all created by AI. It's just so easy to sweep up information online and rehash it, meaning it's not only formulaic but also likely inaccurate. There's no nuance or exploration. And I totally agree about the algorithms, they've always seemed pointless in my opinion, I have never found channels to watch by following them. They seem lazy and promote only what's viral or sensational, leaving more thoughtful creators hidden... Anyway, this has turned into a rant that's taking the focus away from Ethony. I'll likely invest in some of the content she's put out, I've always enjoyed her moon spreads and $12 for 60 pages of material is more than worth it!
Raggydoll Posted January 4 Author Posted January 4 1 hour ago, KiMo said: I'll likely invest in some of the content she's put out, I've always enjoyed her moon spreads and $12 for 60 pages of material is more than worth it! I agree. I can tell she’s putting a lot of effort into her spreads and I can imagine it also takes a great deal of work to design the booklet as a whole. Definitely worth the money!
Misterei Posted January 4 Posted January 4 (edited) 7 hours ago, KiMo said: .... Of the AI videos I've seen, they create yet another echo chamber, repeating the same formula of information over and over again. There's no learning or interest or progression, surely that's not in YouTube's interest if they want to maintain and grow viewer numbers? It's the Ouroboros made live. For a while AI was feeding on *new* human data. Supposedly it's consumed all the fresh data and is to the point of consuming itself now. 7 hours ago, KiMo said: My partner is a film editor and his industry has been decimated by the obsession with AI. Up until now he would always get work through his agent or by word of mouth / reputation, recently he has had to trawl job listings to find work. It's desperate. The real kicker is the fact that there are listings calling for editors to train AI models to edit, ultimately taking more of their work away. I just can't understand it. This is becoming a story we hear every day. Ugh! Even as a tiny micro-creator playing around with YouTube--the pressure to use AI to create content is astounding. I am made to feel that if I don't use AI tools my channel is DOOMED. Wishing to make content that I wish to create is supposedly a death sentence. I am supposed to let AI guide my content creation. Everything from telling me which video topics and allowing it to "help" write the scripts. I feel myself at a creative impasse. We're told that to indulge the HUMAN desire to make art for arts sake is doomed to fail. We humans must become slaves of the AI if we wish to succeed in arts and entertainment. It's not just Ethony. Not just your partner. It's all of humanity. 7 hours ago, KiMo said: With all respect to your friend, yikes!! I'm a humanities academic, and I have a friend who is a science / biology academic. I was joking with her about the stress of having to get a paper submitted and she told me to use ChatGPT to write it. The side-eye I gave her was pretty epic 😂 Jokes aside, I heard about a study out of MIT stating that the use of AI was affecting people's brains and making them less intelligent ... What's shocking is that my freind sees herself as a spiritually aware person. If spiritually aware people are now outsourcing dream interpretation to Chatgpt and academics are outsourcing their thinking and writing to chatgpt--how can this not lead to spiritual and intellectual bankruptcy? Because outsourcing all production to China worked so well for Western economies. Let's outsource our souls to AI. It'll be great 🙄 7 hours ago, KiMo said: I used to enjoy videos about folklore, mythology and iconography but now they're almost all created by AI. It's just so easy to sweep up information online and rehash it, meaning it's not only formulaic but also likely inaccurate. ... It becomes an act of spiritual self discipline to REFUSE AI content [difficult. Sometimes I get sucked in]. Also to actively search for human content. And confuse the AI / algorithm. Search many different topics so it never quite gets a "fix" on you. Let your interests and attention be a moving target. Also easier said than done. But I do this to the best of my ability. And making the efforts to seek out those channels with real humans creating the content. Revisit them even when they don't appear in my feed. 7 hours ago, KiMo said: Anyway, this has turned into a rant that's taking the focus away from Ethony. I'll likely invest in some of the content she's put out, I've always enjoyed her moon spreads and $12 for 60 pages of material is more than worth it! Ethony as a creative to support is the start of this thread. Yet it strikes a chord for many of us because that video is a canary in the coalmine. It's bigger than Ethony. It's touching all of us. In an uncertain economy increasingly altered by AI -- it's difficult to know HOW to create a successful business model for small creators and solopreneurs. Our support to patronize her business [and other human-centric businesses] is important--but what does small business look like in a post AI world? Edited January 4 by Misterei
Raggydoll Posted January 5 Author Posted January 5 15 hours ago, Misterei said: Ethony as a creative to support is the start of this thread. Yet it strikes a chord for many of us because that video is a canary in the coalmine. It's bigger than Ethony. It's touching all of us. In an uncertain economy increasingly altered by AI -- it's difficult to know HOW to create a successful business model for small creators and solopreneurs. Our support to patronize her business [and other human-centric businesses] is important--but what does small business look like in a post AI world? Yes, I think all small creators need some extra support right now! I meant for this thread to allow such discussions too 🙂
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