By Vicky Sidler | Published 12 March 2026 at 12:00 GMT+2

Have you ever shared a hilarious video with a colleague, only to have them instantly ruin your day by smugly pointing out it was entirely generated by a computer?

In a recent article in The Guardian, Polly Hudson described experiencing this exact flavor of modern humiliation. She was targeted by an algorithm with an Instagram reel showing an incredibly realistic 3D hole painted on a New York sidewalk. The video showed panicked passersby dropping to the ground to avoid falling in, which she thought was both funny and clever.

She immediately sent it to a friend, fully expecting a shared moment of joy. Instead, her friend coldly informed her that there was no 3D hole, no street artist, and no actual human passersby, because the entire clip was an artificial intelligence hallucination.

Before we completely surrender our grip on reality to a software update, we need to talk about why this casual deception is a massive threat to your business.

TL;DR:

• People are increasingly being fooled by highly realistic, completely fake artificial intelligence videos online.

• AI expert Matt Shumer compares our current dismissive attitude towards this technology to how we viewed a distant virus in February 2020.

• If your clients cannot trust their own eyes anymore, your only remaining business asset is your undeniable, verifiable human authenticity.

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Table of Contents:

Why Are We So Easily Fooled By Fake Pavement?

To figure that out, we have to look at how exhausting modern friendship has actually become.

In a perfect world, we would all have deep, meaningful conversations over coffee. But because we are all chronically tired and busy, sending a quick video or a meme fully counts as keeping in touch. We do not critically analyze the media we consume because we are just looking for a tiny hit of dopamine before our next Zoom meeting.

When Hudson fell for the fake New York sidewalk, she admitted she felt like she was wearing a tinfoil hat because she had not questioned the illusion for a single second. We simply consume the content, assume it is real, and pass it along.

What Exactly Happens When Your Eyes Start Lying To You?

When you realize you have been completely tricked by a string of code, you naturally get defensive.

Hudson openly wondered if her friend should have just let her enjoy her blissful ignorance instead of ruining the joke. She compared it to an atheist pointing out plot holes in the Bible to a deeply religious person. It extinguishes a brief moment of joy and completely messes with your concept of belief.

But letting people believe in fake videos is actually a terrible long-term strategy. The technology is getting too good, and the consequences are getting too high.

Should We Even Bother Pointing Out The Fakes Anymore?

If we want to survive the next decade, we absolutely have to.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to be incredibly dangerous, and if we do not learn to question what we see, the chances of being scammed are incredibly high. Hudson noted that pointing out the truth might make someone feel like a doofus for a minute, but it acts as a necessary insurance policy against future manipulation.

The problem is that most business owners still think this is just a harmless parlor trick involving fake street art and videos of a kitten and a baby raccoon doing intricate dance routines.

Are We Currently Living In The February 2020 Of AI?

According to the experts who actually build these systems, we are sleepwalking into a disaster.

An essay by AI expert and investor Matt Shumer recently went viral for making a terrifying comparison. He compared the way average people currently think about artificial intelligence to how we all assumed that virus over in China was nothing to worry about in February 2020.

He stated that we are currently in the "this seems overblown" phase of something that is going to be much, much bigger than Covid. The technology is coming for our dignity first by fooling us with amusing videos, and it is coming for our livelihoods next.

How Does This Actually Affect Your Service Business?

It changes the fundamental way your clients evaluate your credibility.

If we are entering an era where people literally cannot trust a video of a sidewalk, they are certainly not going to blindly trust a corporate marketing brochure. Your potential clients are going to become hyper-paranoid. They will assume every case study is fabricated, every testimonial is generated, and every email was written by a chatbot.

When trust hits absolute zero, you cannot compete by just generating more automated slop. You have to do the exact opposite.

Why Is Being Undeniably Human Your Only Real Lifeline?

Because authenticity is about to become the most expensive luxury in the business world.

If a robot can fake a street artist and a dancing raccoon, it can easily fake a basic consulting proposal. Your potential clients are already hyper-paranoid; they are looking for any excuse to hit "delete" and assume you’re just another automated scam. If your marketing sounds like it was polished by a committee of boring algorithms, you’ve already lost the sale before the first meeting.

The moment you stop hiding behind generic corporate jargon is the moment you become the only safe harbor in a sea of automated fakes.

But if you’re good at what you do and your calendar is still empty, your messaging is likely the thing quietly killing your credibility. You don’t have time to wait for the "AI revolution" to settle, you need to fix the leaks in your funnel today. Get my 5-minute marketing fix and identify the exact spots where your message is making paranoid clients hesitate.

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FAQs:

1. Why are fake AI videos dangerous?

Because they slowly erode our basic concept of belief. When artificial intelligence can seamlessly fake a 3D street artist or a busy New York sidewalk, it becomes incredibly difficult to trust anything we see online. This makes society highly vulnerable to scams and manipulation.

2. Should you tell a friend if they share a fake video?

Yes, even though it feels incredibly awkward. Pointing out that a video is fake might ruin their brief moment of joy and make them feel foolish, but it acts as a necessary insurance policy to stop them from being tricked by more dangerous scams in the future.

3. What does the "February 2020 of AI" mean?

AI expert Matt Shumer used this comparison to describe our current collective denial. Just like people assumed a distant virus was nothing to worry about in early 2020, people currently think AI is just a quirky tool for making funny videos, drastically underestimating how much it will change our lives and livelihoods.

4. How will this affect small service businesses?

As fake content floods the internet, consumer trust will hit rock bottom. Clients will stop trusting generic marketing materials, fabricated case studies, and polished videos. Businesses will have to work twice as hard to prove their authenticity and human expertise.

5. How can my business stand out against AI?

You have to stop hiding behind boring corporate jargon. A robot can easily fake professionalism, but it cannot fake lived experience, empathy, or taking real responsibility for a business outcome. You win by making your humanity the core focus of your marketing message.