SPONGEBOB_FAN_97 Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 The AI intros and thumbnails feel disgenuine and a cheap slap in the face to its most loyal fans. We came to watch Don, stayed for Ryan, and this is where the show is heading? Genuinely makes me mad to see them cheap out with this garbage. They had a good thing going and threw it all away. Sucking the soul right out of it. If they keep this up I will not be watching. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 The only AI thing in the intros is the voiceover. All of that video is real and edited by me, and we even wrote the script. It is not even AI generated. Everything else is business as usual on the show. Even if it was all AI, that’s what? The first 10 seconds of the 30-60 minute video? If you don’t like the bumpers and can’t just skip the first few seconds of the video… I don’t know what to tell you… But I truly do appreciate the feedback. I mean that honestly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 37 minutes ago, SPONGEBOB_FAN_97 said: The AI intros and thumbnails feel disgenuine and a cheap slap in the face to its most loyal fans. We came to watch Don, stayed for Ryan, and this is where the show is heading? Genuinely makes me mad to see them cheap out with this garbage. They had a good thing going and threw it all away. Sucking the soul right out of it. If they keep this up I will not be watching. As far as sucking the soul right out of it and throwing it all away, a full-time Six Flags employee told me this morning we keep knocking it out of the park with our episodes. That being said, I appreciate your interest in Tower Topics and your thoughts on the direction of the podcast. We’re a little over two years and 300 episodes into this with Tower Topics, and the podcast is continually evolving with the format. There are more tweaks to come that should continue to make the episodes better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSummit20 Posted October 17 Share Posted October 17 1 hour ago, SPONGEBOB_FAN_97 said: The AI intros and thumbnails feel disgenuine and a cheap slap in the face to its most loyal fans. We came to watch Don, stayed for Ryan, and this is where the show is heading? Genuinely makes me mad to see them cheap out with this garbage. They had a good thing going and threw it all away. Sucking the soul right out of it. If they keep this up I will not be watching. Not saying what im about to say cause Don and Ryan are good friends of mine. BUT look around man. AI is "taking over". If you use it the right way its not trash. The whole point of them using AI is using it as a tool to help improve something. You also gotta get with the times. When it comes down to it what are you here for. The AI enhancements or the news that they STILL provide us about Ki and other parks. IMO nothing has changed. Things get better over time. I applaud them for using AI, as its everywhere now. hope you keep on keepin on and @DonHelbig and @BoddaH1994 keep up the great work! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiftdrawer Posted October 18 Share Posted October 18 23 hours ago, RedSummit20 said: Not saying what im about to say cause Don and Ryan are good friends of mine. BUT look around man. AI is "taking over". If you use it the right way its not trash. The whole point of them using AI is using it as a tool to help improve something. You also gotta get with the times. When it comes down to it what are you here for. The AI enhancements or the news that they STILL provide us about Ki and other parks. IMO nothing has changed. Things get better over time. I applaud them for using AI, as its everywhere now. hope you keep on keepin on and @DonHelbig and @BoddaH1994 keep up the great work! I’m getting my perspective in here because there are extents to which I disagree with your statement. The problem with the AI slop/generative stuff that has emerged since roughly 2021-mid 2022 is that those who have developed it and made it so popular worldwide do not have the best interests of anyone but themselves in mind. For example, Midjourney and ChatGPT have literally stolen works published by authors, artists, animators, and so on online to train on without giving credit, compensation, or even a heads up or asking for permission to do so. Darth Vader’s now deceased voice actor apparently gave permission so the Darth Vader in Fortnite thing could have been worse. I have learned more information about what this AI hype has been causing than I ever wanted to know so it’s all like a information overload when I think too much about too many details about it all that I know about it. I haven’t watched Tower Topics as I literally have so many things and interests going on but still. Things would be different if all of these AI programs were actually built on ethically created training sets, ie, people whose works get into them giving explicit permission for that to happen. The truth of the matter is that the overall current AI movement or whatever you want to call it is a scam and a grift. Its biggest proponents legitimately hate and envy creative people for well.. being motivated and driven enough to create works of art and such. This is a multi billion industry that they have built and yet, the big tech companies pushing this all in such evil ways keep burning through billions. It’s like a huge circus act. Anyway, 300 episodes for a podcast? That’s really impressive. That is so much time, effort, and dedication. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexpostal Posted October 20 Share Posted October 20 On 10/17/2025 at 2:37 PM, RedSummit20 said: Not saying what im about to say cause Don and Ryan are good friends of mine. BUT look around man. AI is "taking over". If you use it the right way its not trash. The whole point of them using AI is using it as a tool to help improve something. You also gotta get with the times. When it comes down to it what are you here for. The AI enhancements or the news that they STILL provide us about Ki and other parks. IMO nothing has changed. Things get better over time. I applaud them for using AI, as its everywhere now. hope you keep on keepin on and @DonHelbig and @BoddaH1994 keep up the great work! Who cares if AI slop is taking over? The goal should be to reverse that trend and use less of it. Its damaging to the environment and to artists alike. The only good of AI is it allows creators to avoid paying actual artists and performers. Its slop and should be shunned, as opposed to just giving in and accepting. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJSkyFoxx Posted October 20 Share Posted October 20 49 minutes ago, rexpostal said: Who cares if AI slop is taking over? The goal should be to reverse that trend and use less of it. Its damaging to the environment and to artists alike. The only good of AI is it allows creators to avoid paying actual artists and performers. Its slop and should be shunned, as opposed to just giving in and accepting. Agreed. Unfortunately there are some areas where AI cannot be entirely avoided, but if one can avoid it, please do. Any and everything counts. AI data centers are absolutely awful for the environment as stated above and horrible for local communities who happen to be near a data center. And yes, the art theft is a real tragedy too. I really have nothing good to say about AI. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted October 20 Share Posted October 20 Let me remind everyone that the extent of AI that’s been used is for an intro voiceover, which is almost under 30 seconds. This only really used so it’s someone else’s voice besides mine and Don’s. All of the video, music and script are done by us or our partners. Sometimes I’ll use AI to make Don and I make funny expression in the thumbnail. I’d hardly say that crosses the line into AI slop, especially when it’s typically not even used for generation (although I wouldn’t rule out using it that way if warranted). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROBBE1 Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 Am I only one that can't tell what is done by AI? I'm there for the content they provide. Always looks like KI's Eiffel Tower to me in the intro! Keep up the great work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcoop22 Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 On 10/17/2025 at 1:34 PM, BoddaH1994 said: The only AI thing in the intros is the voiceover. All of that video is real and edited by me, and we even wrote the script. It is not even AI generated. Everything else is business as usual on the show. Even if it was all AI, that’s what? The first 10 seconds of the 30-60 minute video? If you don’t like the bumpers and can’t just skip the first few seconds of the video… I don’t know what to tell you… But I truly do appreciate the feedback. I mean that honestly. I enjoy the show. My 5-year-old asks to listen to it every morning on the drive to his kindergarten. I'm not a fan of the new bumpers. I usually skip them. I'd rather listen to Don or Ryan introduce the episodes topic than a computer-generated voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted Friday at 12:29 AM Share Posted Friday at 12:29 AM For those who are mad about the bumpers... and I'll never get used to people being mad about that.. there's a t-shirt for you: http://store.towertopics.com 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPONGEBOB_FAN_97 Posted Friday at 03:40 AM Author Share Posted Friday at 03:40 AM Don…Ryan… Great to hear from the guys behind the show. Tower Topics is still the world’s best podcast, keep up the good work, just don’t forget where you came from when they put your stars down in the walk of fame in Hollywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted Friday at 02:49 PM Share Posted Friday at 02:49 PM This thread is for discussing AI used on Tower Topics. Please stay on that subject. For the etherical use of AI and its good and bad qualities please continue that discussion here: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted Friday at 06:01 PM Share Posted Friday at 06:01 PM 14 hours ago, SPONGEBOB_FAN_97 said: Don…Ryan… Great to hear from the guys behind the show. Tower Topics is still the world’s best podcast, keep up the good work, just don’t forget where you came from when they put your stars down in the walk of fame in Hollywood. Oh, I’ll never forget where I came from. Hustling up and down every aisle at Riverfront Stadium, selling souvenirs at Reds and Bengals games from 1980 to 1982 for a straight 15% commission, built the foundation for every success that came after. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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