In the Content Aisle, everything comes with labels now. Not because society is terrified – because society is nosy. A shopper compares two joke packs: one says “Made by a human,” the other says “Made with AI assistance – SynthID embedded.”
The shopper squints like they’re reading ingredients. “Hmm,” they mutter. “This one has more laughs per panel.” They toss the SynthID one into the cart without hesitation. The cashier scans it and asks, deadpan, “Would you like a receipt, or would you like me to watermark your feelings too?”
Behind them, a man in a trench coat whispers, “I only consume artisanal, untagged content.” Nobody reacts. A kid nearby is giggling at a watermarked comic on a cereal box. The parent smiles. That’s the whole point – the audience cares about joy, not mythology.
The scene quietly flips the script: SynthID becomes a boring little transparency tag, like “contains nuts.” Useful if you care. Ignorable if you don’t. Either way, the product still has to taste good. And isn’t art kind of the same?
