cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/31694909
Remember the "I want a white one" video? That's the first video I clearly remember having a text-to-speech voice-over. It was really bad TTS, and it was awesome. Lately, though, I find myself wishing video hosting services like Youtube and Peertube (to a lesser degree) had a filter so that I could filter out any videos with TTS voice overs. Does this bother anyone else?
I'm a little torn about it. There are legitimate reasons for people to use them; I've seen commentary from posters about social anxiety that makes even recording audio difficult, and TTS must be fantastic for mute folks. Non-native English speakers may be more comfortable with it. I'm sure the platform doesn't help... how many videos do you have to post where the peanut gallery mocks your verbal mistakes before you give up and just have an engine read your written text? I've also noticed that the use of TTS is far, far worse on Youtube -- I have yet to come across a single video on any Peertub site that uses it, although it must exist.
Like a lot of technology, generated speech is getting abused, and since TTS has valid uses, I put it in the "enshittification" category. It's used on every bulk, low-effort "N greatest/funniest/random-adjective" videos; I hear it in increasingly in those suspiciously AI-smelling, ad-ish "reviews" that just read specs and make an odd comment about how cool it is; and there's so much more low-quality, low-information content that feels AI generated uses it -- or maybe it feels AI generated because it uses it. It's almost always on just awful content.
TTS on video content is a perfect example of "this is why we can't have nice things." I am starting to hate it so much, I abort whatever I'm starting to watch as soon as I hear the absurd cadence and mispronunciations -- I'd rather hear an honest non-native speaker making mistakes than that terrible TTS crap.
Whatever the reason, the use of TTS is a trend I'm putting firmly in the "enshittification" category, but am I overreacting here? Do you have a way of dodging or identifying content that uses TTS, in advance?
Wait you can do that!?
If it's on the recommended list at the right you can click on the triple-dot next to the and say "don't recommend this channel" or some such, yes.
Oh, that button doesn't do anything.
I literally screen-captured it doing something.
You took a screenshot of a button, that does not prove that the button does anything. It's been there for years. I've clicked it 860828528 times. It does nothing.
And yet not a single channel that I've clicked that button on has ever showed up in my recommendations ever again.
Anecdotal. And contradicted by my own anecdotal evidence.
That button exists for the same reason the "close door" button exists on an elevator, and the crosswalk button exists on many intersections: to make it seem like your specific needs are being met, while completely ignoring everything you say.
That button is the internet equivalent of "Your call is very important to us".
Yeah, talk to the hand, you putrid asshole.
Buh-bye.
Cone on, you can do better than that. I believe in you.