Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. For generations, AI was a common (and often feared) aspect of science fiction. But in the real world, it was something sought-after but never quite achieved.
Enter generative AI. We had gotten used to talking to AI assistants like Siri and Alexa, but with the public availability of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, DALL-E, and other tools, the world of content creation changed quite suddenly.
Since 2022, generative AI has slowly evolved from a curious novelty to a necessary part of the creative workflow. Many brands and individual creators have realized tremendous benefits from using AI, but ethical concerns have also arisen.
Below, we’ll review some of the top AI content creation tools on the market today. Then, we’ll analyze the benefits you may reap by using them. Finally, we’ll consider potential drawbacks and ethical concerns that all users need to be aware of.
Top AI Tools for Content Creators
First, let’s briefly define what content is. Dictionary.com describes content as “something that is to be expressed through some medium, as speech, writing, or any of the various arts.” We’ll dive into four particular types of content: text, images, videos, and sounds.
1. Text Generators
ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Jasper AI, Copy.ai, and Writesonic are among the most well-known AI text generators. Many apps and websites integrate text generators, especially ChatGPT, into their AI-powered functions.
These tools are excellent for doing research, brainstorming, and outlining documents. Text generators are also useful in outlining or creating templates for highly formatted documents, such as resumes or works cited pages, applying set rules of formatting that the user may not be aware of.
Of course, ethical considerations come into play as mentioned above. For instance, should you give AI complete creative control over your resume? Follow Resumecoach’s advice on how to use ChatGPT when writing your resume, or check out our section on ethics below. There, we’ll also discuss topics like disclosing your use of AI.
2. Image Generators
DALL-E by OpenAI is likely the most well-known image generator, but Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are close contenders. These tools turn text prompts into images—in fact, many text generators like ChatGPT and Google Gemini now generate images, too. Image generators are also integrated into other platforms, like Canva and apps that produce emojis and other “stickers” for social media and texting.
3. Video Generators
There are a number of text-to-video generators, such as InVideo AI. Describe the video you want, and it will put together a montage based on publicly available videos. Script it yourself, or allow the platform to compose the script for you.
Filmora has an image-to-video generator that allows you to bring photographs and illustrations to life. Synthesia is extensively used to create training and informative videos using AI avatars.
4. Sound Generators
YouTube recently beta tested a Music assistant that can create instrumental tracks to accompany your videos. Suno AI can likewise create music from text prompts. Many creators also utilize real-time voice modulators like Voicemod or AI voiceover makers like ElevenLabs.
Benefits of AI Content Creation
Things were different before generative AI. As a newspaper reporter and editor, word selection and article formatting took time and consideration. We had Spell Check, but it wasn’t as “smart” as Grammarly. You still had to know your stuff. For illustrations, I took photos, hand-sketched cartoons, and spent hours on Photoshop creating digital images.
Why this walk down memory lane? It well illustrates one of the top benefits of generative AI—it saves a lot of time.
- When I write an article today, I don’t have to go to the library, pull books from the shelves, and read them while taking notes. I simply ask ChatGPT to summarize the subject for me. It will condense hours’ worth of reading into a few paragraphs so I can learn about an unfamiliar topic quickly. If I need to fact-check, I ask for citations so I can go straight to the source.
- When it comes to formatting, I can ask for an outline or a template. I can use an AI-powered editor to double-check my work. I can even ask for suggestions on changing the tone, audience, or optimizing SEO. These features result in an overall higher quality result.
- If I need an illustration, I don’t have to stage a photo or make a sketch. I don’t even have to scroll through pages of stock photos. I can just describe the image I need, and poof, there it is. The same is true of video. It has been estimated that brands using AI video generators produce three times as much content and cut production times by 70 percent.
- Besides saving time, AI can also help you brainstorm and overcome writer’s block by making helpful suggestions. It can bridge skill gaps—you don’t have to be good at writing, painting, drawing, photography, videography, and music composition. You can focus on the one you’re best at and lean into technology to create other kinds of content.
- Most AI tools also have a free trial, whether that involves a span of time, a number of credits, or a certain amount of usage each day. This means that it is accessible to everyone.
Ethical Considerations and Drawbacks of AI Content Creation
AI content generators are powerful tools, but there are also drawbacks. How can you make sure you’re ethical in your use of AI? How can you recognize and avoid others’ unethical usage? We’ll consider these topics below.
1. Transparency Is Key
Being open, honest, and transparent in your use of AI is essential to gaining and retaining your audience’s trust. Really, your audience doesn’t care if you use AI, and there is nothing inherently wrong with using AI. But no one wants to be tricked into thinking AI content is “real.”
Many social and commercial platforms are building transparency into their systems. For example, Instagram has an “Add AI label” button. Their help center states that this label isn’t just a courtesy; it is required when content “has photorealistic video or realistic-sounding audio.”
Similarly, Amazon requires print and Kindle books in which AI was used in creating the content to be labeled as such. Sadly, not everyone in these communities follows these guidelines. How can you avoid the trap of misinformation? We’ll examine that toolkit next.
2. Identifying Hidden AI Content
During my newspaper years, I became adept at using Adobe Photoshop to edit photos. Later, as a professional photographer, I manipulated photos using the same techniques. Need to add someone who left early to a group photo? I could do that. Need to change the lighting or remove a distracting element? Got it. Want to make a fun and fanciful collage? I could do that, too.
This experience made me confident in identifying photos that had been Photoshopped. I looked for clues like:
- Differences in lighting
- Missing or misplaced shadows
- Jagged edges
- Differences in focus or photo quality
- Other distortions.
These same tactics can be used to spot AI photos today. When it comes to videos, also look for awkward movements, such as a head that turns too far or a leg bent the wrong way, or objects that suddenly appear, disappear, or seem to pass through solid objects.
But as generative AI advances, the products are getting more difficult to spot. In 2022, for example, Jason Allen’s “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial” won the Fine Arts Competition at the Colorado State Fair—a contest generally reserved for paintings. It sparked controversy when his use of Midjourney to create the image became known.
Sometimes, AI images of public figures trick people into believing they were somewhere or doing something they weren’t. Deep fake videos even have them talking about it. Even peer-reviewed journals aren’t immune, as AI “hallucinations” have been identified in some scientific articles.
The good news is, tools are available to help you spot AI-generated content. Grammarly hosts a free AI Detector that will tell you the percentage of a written work that seems to be AI-generated. It’s not foolproof, though—this article, which contains no AI-generated content, received a score of “4% if this text appears to be AI-generated.” But if the score is more than 50 percent, you can be pretty confident that AI was used.
Sightengine, WasItAI, and Hive Moderation have tools designed to detect AI images.
Still, your own attention to detail and a willingness to fact-check are your best defenses against sneaky AI content. If an article, video, or image seems unusual, far-fetched, or intended to be inflammatory, trace it to its source before believing or sharing it. For example, check the dates that the content was posted, look for references to the original poster in reposts, use a reverse image search, or verify information from multiple unbiased sources.
Key Takeaways
Generative AI—whether text, video, image, or sound generators—can be a fun and effective part of the creative process, especially when you learn how to use them ethically and with full disclosure. They can save you time and money while creating engaging content to share with your audience. Check out the AI tools listed above and experience the power of generative AI today.
