The irony of being called not human by an AI

25 Sep, 2026

Living in an oxymoronic reality where we are both being forced to use artificial intelligence agents in everything, while simultaneously digitally dwelling within "hearing" distance of the drums of an anti-AI resistance beating is...annoying, to say it as politely as possible.

But, to be honest, as someone in the crosswinds of both dueling parties is beyond frustrating, more often now than ever.

On the one hand, because I understand grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and paragraph placement, I have had my fair share of you're a bot comments. I will never apologize for being literate (and knowing cursive too!). So sorry to the micro generation that didn't get phonics in school, but it's not too late to catch up.

Then, on the other, the YouTube AI continuously shadowbands me because it's convinced I'm an AI narrator. Apparently I speak too well and have steady pace and cadence. If you think that's all in my head, guess once more. There's a new AI feature where you can get a prejudgement (that's honestly what it is) on your video, with a graded tier from A - D, along with notes on the reasoning for the grade assigned to each section. It was nice enough to tell me that I should actually use a human voice so I don't sound as if I'm content farming. Awesome, thank you.

So, in a world where reality is so blurred that no one (or no thing, in the case of an AI interface) knows who's really human, what is one to do?

The comment I left on my own video was this: Even though we are all trapped in this unending unscripted movie, not everyone wants to be on camera. I could definitely verify myself to Google, but I refuse to do so. My writing and my voice are mine and me. That is enough to verify myself. Human. Filled with frustrations from this bizzaroland. Seeking a way out through the most productive and creative avenues I know.

I truly miss the days of even a decade ago. WordPress wasn't an isolated island. Writers interacted and co-created. Youtube was fun. You just uploaded and people watched, that was the full plan. Instagram was friends, not an endless scroll of whoever the algorithm wants to introduce you to. Facebook was always chopped, so I'm not missing anything there. I digress (again?).

Which leads me to this. I created something of my own, a throwback website/newsletter so that I can continue to declare that I'm more real than anyone's favorite YouTuber. I encourage anyone reading this to do something similar. The Internet 2.0 is still out there. Find it and find each other. We still exist, even without the verification code.

Q.

[My short will most likely never find its audience.] Watch on YouTube