The Man Who Makes AI Slop by Hand

Mu is not the only comedian who has tried to imitate the style of AI-generated videos, but he really nails all of the elements: The clumsy bodily movements, the spaced-out facial expressions, and the unpredictable plot development. Many viewers, me included, were shocked at how accurately he captured the essence of AI slop videos.

Mu tells me that the half-dozen AI imitation videos he has filmed represent only a small part of his acting career. He has wanted to be an actor since college and spent the summer after his freshman year at Hengdian World Studios—the world’s largest film studio—looking for background acting opportunities. He started making comedy sketches on Chinese social media in 2019, and content creation now takes up most of his time.

The success of his AI imitation videos earned him a sponsorship deal from a Chinese generative AI company, which paid him 80,000 RMB (about $11,000) to produce two more sketches promoting the company’s video model. That’s not a bad gig, but I honestly expected Mu to have received more opportunities through his global virality.

As part of the sponsorship, Mu shot two versions of the sketches, one that embedded AI-generated footage and one without it. He was secretly hoping that the advertiser would choose the latter, because it showcases human acting skills front and center. But the advertiser chose the one with the AI. “That kind of feels like it’s starting to steal jobs from human actors, doesn’t it?” Mu says.

Mu popped up on my timeline again last week when he released a sequel to his first AI imitation series, this time mimicking the videos created by Sora, OpenAI’s latest generative video tool. His new video is much more subtle but still manages to nail that unexplainably unsettling feeling that has endured even as AI videos become more advanced.

Mu says there is a perpetual battle underway as AI accelerates, but it’s not man versus machine. Rather, the clash is between humans and other humans who make AI models, and each side is constantly trying to one up the other. “We’re poking fun at some of AI’s flaws, its eeriness and absurdity, but the AI creators are probably improving those, too. You see, this year’s AI already looks much more human,” Mu says.

How to Act Like AI

Before he made his first AI imitation sketch in July 2024, Mu watched a lot of AI slop videos to study their common traits. He wanted to understand the kinds of mistakes AI often makes and then re-create them in his own scripts.

For example, when an object appears in the frame, AI often misunderstands its purpose for being there. For example, a hanger can be used to hang clothes, but it’s also often the weapon of choice when parents in China physically punish their children. That dual use inspired another one of Mu’s videos last year, where midway through pretending to hit his “son” with a hanger, the boy’s shorts mysteriously come off, and Mu looks like he suddenly forgot what he’s doing and decided to hang up the shorts instead.