as brought up in the stubsack
AI is deepening the previously parasocial relationships we had with our favorite anime characters from passive linear media, into powerful new, interactive relationships.
I think this is legitimately the first time that I’ve seen someone speak about parasocial relationships not only positively, but also suggesting that, hey, we should remove the human element even more from it because it’s not creepy enough as it is.
I think it also makes sense to keep in mind that these bayfuckers are extremely brained by the knowledge of how big tiktok etc are presently - platforms that operate as amplifying distributors and enlarge the likelihood of parasocial relationships, as well as that allows someone like themselves to be the bridge troll they wish to be[0]
that they want to encourage it is also not too surprising, because they do not give a shit about the health of their marks
[0] - because again, rent extraction is the only business model they understand
Out of my sample of Anime fans who actively participate in the hobby and spend money on it,
100% of them hate genAI primarily because, and I quote, “if I pay you $40 for something and it is exactly equivalent to what a $0.05 prompt garbage result would be, I won’t pay you again.”
Fans, the real fans, can tell. Like, this is their whole hobby brah.
from bsky:
Weeb3
Dragon Ball A16Z: We have replaced interminable screaming powerup sequences and planet-destroying energy blasts with long panning shots of the characters using their abilities to light giant mountains of cash on fire. If you give us a series C at a valuation of $420 million, we may be able to determine why test audience surveys have thus far come back unfavorable
Money represents the aggregate value of the intersection between human labour, ingenuity and scarce finite resources. Human lives are routinely rendered down, ground up and consumed by the drive to generate this representative value. Entire ways of living, forms of self perception and our understanding of what makes a human worthy of existing is inextricably wrapped up in this value generating process.
As a society we have declared that these people are best placed to decide what to do with that value. They chose anime.
No, see, if they chose anime that would at least represent an investment in the creation of something however questionable it’s overall value for the level of resources involved.
Instead they see anime as a thing people like and are trying to link their existing AI and crypto concepts to it in order to bouy their public perception and get a halo effect going.
They’re not choosing to put that value in anime, they’re hoping to use anime to make the things they did choose seem more valuable than they are, because otherwise they made horrible choices and won’t be given as large a share of society’s surplus output to use on the next thing.