In Support of Authentic Stories: Our Stance on AI-Generated Videos

AI-Generated Videos and the Trawler Industry

As generative artificial intelligence becomes more powerful and easier to use, it is also becoming harder to distinguish fact from fiction—especially when real people, products, and events are at the center of AI-created videos.

At some point, we have probably all been drawn into an AI-generated video featuring fast-paced visuals, a confident narrator, and the promise of some previously unrevealed truth about a topic we care about.

In the trawler world, these videos often take the form of “state of the industry,” “best and worst trawlers,” or “the truth behind” a particular event or controversy. Even our friends and partners at The 71 Percent have become the subject of AI-generated videos.

Why is this happening? First, because it is incredibly easy to create and publish this type of content. In just a few clicks, a producer can prompt AI to write a catchy narrative about virtually any topic, pull photos and videos from YouTube and across the internet, and generate a human-sounding voice to narrate it. Unlike traditional journalism, there may be little or no fact-checking or editorial oversight before the video is published. The result is a world where almost anything can be presented as fact.

Another reason for the growth of trawler-related AI content is that trawlers and long-range cruising are more popular than ever. Boat sales and TrawlerFest attendance are strong, and more people are watching boating channels like The 71 Percent and the Selene Americas YouTube channel than ever before. When a topic becomes popular organically, it quickly attracts the attention of AI-based channels and producers because this type of content can be created and monetized at scale.

What Exactly Are AI-Generated Videos?

AI-generated videos are sometimes referred to as “AI slop,” but not all of them look sloppy—especially at first glance. Because they often use real images and reference actual articles, events, and concerns within the trawler community, they can initially appear informative and credible.

However, low-quality AI-generated content is often characterized by four things:

1. High Volume: Content is produced quickly using generative AI, often at massive scale and with minimal human oversight. A producer provides AI with a topic, theme, or perspective and then lets the technology do most of the work.

2. Low Effort and Little Original Meaning: The content lacks genuine reporting, artistic intent, depth, or creative thought.

3. Little Regard for Accuracy: The goal is often to deliver a simple or sensationalist takeaway rather than explore a story accurately, thoughtfully, and with appropriate nuance.

4. Algorithmic Clickbait: The content is designed to capture attention, rank in search results, and maximize advertising revenue or social-media engagement.

How to Tell If a Video Is AI-Generated

As AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, it is getting harder to distinguish authentic content from AI-generated or AI-assisted content. However, there are still several clues worth looking for:

• Who published it? AI-generated videos are often published by faceless or generic channels that produce content at a pace that would be difficult for an individual creator to sustain. This is one reason we recommend following and subscribing to channels from people, brands, and news sources you know to be real and reliable.

• What is the tone? AI-generated videos often attract clicks by starting rumors, speculating about difficult-to-verify topics, or sensationalizing stories and people that the trawler community is already discussing. The tone is often confident and highly scripted. Authentic content, by contrast, tends to include more nuance and a more positive, human perspective.

• How formulaic is the narrative? AI-generated voiceovers are now often almost indistinguishable from real human voices. Instead, it is the formulaic structure and clichéd expressions that can give these videos away. Phrases such as “By the end of this video, you’ll know the truth…,” “In the next 90 seconds, you’ll see exactly why…,” and “No one expected what happened next…” are common indicators of clickbait rather than authentic storytelling. AI-generated narration is also prone to miss-pronounce names and industry-specific terms. 

• What kind of conversation is happening in the comments? While real content creators typically respond to comments, answer questions, and interact with viewers, AI-generated content creators seldom interact in such authentic ways. Likewise, the comments of other viewers often call out the inconsistencies and inaccuracies of the video. 

• What visuals are being used? Because AI-generated videos often pull photos and footage from across YouTube and the web, the visuals may not actually match the narration. A video might show one boat while discussing another, for example, or combine footage from different sources and creators with completely different styles. In most cases, these images and videos may also have been used without the permission of the original creators.

• Is there a small “AI” below the title? Though it’s hard to notice, YouTube typically displays a small “AI” label underneath the title of long-form content that is wholly or substantially created with AI. 

Why All of This Matters

Selene Yachts Americas is not fundamentally opposed to AI. We use it ourselves—to resize advertising banners, create graphics, summarize meetings, and for many other tasks. ChatGPT even helped us polish the grammar in this article.

However, we believe the trawler community is best served when stories are authentic, accurate, and told by the people at the center of them. That is why many of our videos feature real people from the Selene community who can share their experiences and report on news in their own voices, with nuance and without unnecessary sensationalism or speculation.

The trawler industry, like every industry, faces real challenges. But we also believe this is an exciting time for people who love blue-water cruising. The audience is expanding, trawler systems and technologies are rapidly evolving, and we have unprecedented access to information and tools that make it easier to live, cruise, and work aboard our boats.

Yet much of the AI-generated content related to trawlers seems to focus on fear, controversy, and negativity- because that’s what generates clicks. However, we hope you can look beyond the clickbait and seek out real stories that inspire a sense of joy, adventure, and community.

The 71 Percent is a great example.

We’re Always Here to Answer Your Questions

Whether your concerns stem from an AI-generated video or are entirely your own, we hope you will reach out to us whenever questions arise about our boats, our initiatives, or even our financial position.

We pride ourselves on being approachable and transparent, and we are always willing to answer your questions as honestly and directly as possible.

Have a question? Contact us today.