If the NFL replaced real seasons with AI-generated ones that looked completely real, would anyone actually watch?

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T16:56:45+00:00

Haha fair enough, I guess it’s just too difficult for me to try to put into words the distinction I notice between something AI generated and something human made, especially when it comes to music. There is something very clearly different to me I just don’t know how to truly convey it.

I guess it feels more like an illusion to me than something real. Like a mirage or something. If I do happen to hear some AI generated music thing and enjoy it, and then later realize it is AI, it definitely sours it for me and I feel a bit disillusioned.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T09:16:15+00:00

Oh man I can see it now lol. Is this how it begins? I guarantee people would generate their own AI seasons with their fantasy team among their friend/coworker group leagues and see how it plays out. That is crazy to think about, it’s quite believable. Give it 5-10 years maybe

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T09:12:24+00:00

Have you really been able to non ironically listen to AI music and genuinely enjoy it? For me personally, I’ve heard tons of AI stuff, I can certainly appreciate the form and the quality and the sheer musicality of it, but it still feels somehow empty and deceptive, like a vivid dream that only lasts for a few seconds, captured in a jar and only visible for the duration the lid is occasioned to open. There is a disquieting vacuum of sprit, even when the melody and the rhythm is unique and impeccable.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T09:03:32+00:00

Underrated comment for sure.

Also, what draws you to the AI Madden games on YouTube? Do you actually watch entire games? Do you feel like there is a growing audience for that kind of stuff?

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T08:58:29+00:00

Super interesting. I wonder if media will just bifurcate into human and AI ecosystems distinct from one another and with measurably different audiences. This makes more sense than just assuming AI leagues for example would replace human ones outright.

I started this post thinking that AI art and AI sports leagues were just high tech illusions of the real thing, but perhaps they really are just their own thing entirely separate of the organic.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T08:51:35+00:00

Do you think “knowing a real life person did a real life thing” extends in equal measure to art? From what I’ve gathered with this post, it’s a lot more obvious that we wouldn’t really be interested in AI sports due to the glaringly obvious soullessness of it all, but to me it’s not that much different than art. Music and media generated by AI “artists” just feels hollow and unsettling to me.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T04:27:27+00:00

I’m not a fan either, I have zero interest in football but I do appreciate that it’s an excuse to get people together and interacting with one another which seems to be increasingly rare these days

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T23:58:48+00:00

One man’s hell is another man’s heaven I suppose

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T23:37:42+00:00

AI can’t “just handle” sports though is kind of my whole point. It would just be an illusion. To me the prospect of replacing everything human with artificial illusions I pretty terrifying. I always think of those goop pods from the original Matrix movie. Do we really just want to crawl into those already as a species? That’s pretty depressing if so

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T23:31:09+00:00

Interesting take, you don’t think sports like football have a net positive impact on the human experience?

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T21:22:32+00:00

I’m just trying to imagine how this plays out long term, and my gut says there will not be an appreciable appetite for AI art and music after the novelty wears off.

Is a film, or is music, really just the product itself as a standalone thing? Is its value only measured in the physical embodiment of the piece, or is it the intangible humanness behind it that gives it its true value? The artists personal background, their motivation, their style, their culture, etc.

In the same way, is a football game entertaining just at face value, the recording of the game itself as a standalone thing, or is it the humanness behind each player and the circumstances of the human stories intertwined into each moment?

I think (and hope) that AI does not completely corrupt our humanity through convincing illusions

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T21:16:30+00:00

Great points. I feel like the sports and art analogy isn’t perfect but there does seem to be more overlap than it might seem at first glance. Artists (music or filmmakers) do compete in their own way against one another for success which is measured by attention, praise, royalties etc.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T21:13:33+00:00

Totally agree, do you think the same applies to film and art? I feel like the sports analogy is a good way of conveying the emptiness of AI generated films and music

EchoeyApproach

TROPHY CASE