Latest news with #BenKusin
Axios
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
AI slop is ruining all of our favorite places to scroll
An AI-generated video of rabbits jumping on a trampoline that went viral this week — and was widely believed to be real — proved even cute animal vids aren't safe from convincing slop machines. Why it matters: All the fake AI-generated content online is sapping the joy of casual scrolling. It's not just animal vids. Hobbyists say genAI is ruining gardening forums, knitting communities and the entire DIY aesthetic on Pinterest. AI-generated images lack the imperfections that make these community connections relatable. Vogue ran an ad featuring an AI model in its August print issue and readers called the ads hollow and accused them of stealing jobs from models and photographers. Fake influencers have been slipping into our feeds for a few years now, but they're getting harder to spot now that image generators have mastered fingers — though they still struggle with knees. Driving the news: The latest viral video in question features outdoor night camera footage of the bounding bunnies, which was quickly debunked. The tell-tale signs: lack of continuity, defying physics, and a glitchy video timer. Young people online expressing their fear that falling for the bunnies made them feel old quickly became a trend. Between the lines: AI-generated oddities are showing up in our feeds more often because they're lucrative for creators. The weirder it is, the more time we spend looking at it, signaling the algorithm that we want to see more like it. If we watch content over and over again or stop scrolling to see if an image or video shows the signs of being AI-generated, that's more fuel for the algorithm. Engagement — especially confusion-driven engagement — is valuable. Catch up quick: Images and videos generated with OpenAI, Google and Meta's sophisticated free or cheap AI tools are swamping the internet and fooling even the savviest scrollers. This particular brand of synthetic content is called AI slop because it oozes into and potentially suffocates human-made media. Others argue it's more nuanced. Slop isn't new either, Ben Kusin, founder of AI studio Kartel, told Axios. He points to shows like America's Funniest Home Videos as evidence that what some call "slop" has existed long before generative AI. "AI has democratized the ability for people to make that at scale," Kusin said. "It's going to create a net negative effect," Kusin argued. It's a deluge that's no longer manageable, he said. Zoom out: We appear to be adapting and growing more comfortable with AI-generated content overall. What to watch: Platforms themselves must stop incentivizing the slop, Kusin explained.
Los Angeles Times
18-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Beverly Hills Startup Kartel.ai Raises $2 Million Seed Round
a Beverly Hills-based startup focused on creative media, launched with $2 million in funding from Fourward Ventures and Connetic Ventures. The company is focused on an AI-enhanced production pipeline for the content economy. Brands, studios and agencies can call a dedicated phone number and talk through a project or work with a team of producers to utilize an AI-enhanced intake system. They will then match with a Kartel-vetted artist to produce a finished video or campaign within a matter of days. The founding team includes Luke Perterson and Ben Kusin. Kartel also operates a studio in Santa Monica, run by Ryan Tomlinson, a former brand strategist for Earth One and advisor to the U.S. Space Force. Information for this article was sourced from
Forbes
10-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Kartel Launches With $2 Million And Human-Centric AI To Disrupt Media Production
a Beverly Hills-based startup, is officially out of stealth with $2 million in early funding and a plan to rewire the way creative media is produced and sold. Its founders believe they've built something new: a human centric, AI-enhanced production pipeline that brings structure to an increasingly chaotic content economy. It's early, but Kartel says their business model is working. Kartel offers a full-stack platform for creative production. Brands, studios, SMBs and agencies can call a dedicated phone number, 1-838-NEW-IDEA, and talk through a project, or work directly with Kartel's team of producers. An AI-enhanced intake system generates a creative brief on the fly, then matches the job with one of Kartel's vetted artists. From there, the project moves through a managed workflow, supported by both software and a heavily curated team of ai-savvy directors. The result is a finished video or campaign delivered in days. This is a business built around workflow orchestration, creative matchmaking, and the belief that speed and quality do not have to be mutually exclusive. The founders describe it as an operating system for modern storytelling, though they stop short of suggesting automation replaces creativity. The entire premise is to support human creators, not eliminate them, they say. Co-founders Luke Perterson, CEO, and Ben Kusin (CSO). During my visit to Kartel's Beverly Hills office, I was struck by the informality and energy of the space. It's an open-plan bullpen with no pretense. The CEO sits next to his assistant, who sits next to a programmer, who sits next to a strategist. Everyone is close enough to hear everyone else work. At one point, co-founder Luke Peterson pulled up a slide in their pitch deck and asked me to call the number on the screen. I had just gotten off a call with a client in the XR glasses space and gave Kartel's AI a brief about them. It asked me a few questions. I sent in product shots. The next day, I received a fully produced spot that looked like it had come from an agency. Clean concept, solid art direction, and a tone that felt considered. I later found out it had been executed by one of Kartel's artists, Mike Burns, using generative tools, working off the brief the AI had captured from my phone call. The client approved it immediately. Their system reduces the layers that typically bloat production timelines. It removes the back-and-forth of creative development without removing the creative itself. Artists still direct, design, and edit. For each of Kartel's customer segments, they're eliminating a point of friction. For agencies, the benefit is production speed and creative diversity. For artists, it's inbound work they wouldn't otherwise see. For clients, it's cost-effective direct access to premium talent, without the overhead or delay of traditional firms. Peterson agreed and clarified that what they've built isn't a directory, but a full production stack with AI tooling layered into every stage of the workflow, and careful attention to the roster of artists who in effect represent Kartel as much as Kartel represents them. The founding team includes Peterson, a startup veteran and former managing director at Wells Fargo, and Kartel's Chief Strategy Officer Ben Kusin, who previously ran the AI-first consultancy Visionairy, and held executive roles in gaming and media. Their VP of Marketing, Estefania Guarderas, produced reality television at Bravo before discovering generative AI. She taught herself the tools, built spec work, and was hired after Kartel saw what she could do with them. Kartel also operates a studio in Santa Monica, run by Ryan Tomlinson, a former brand strategist for Earth One and advisor to the U.S. Space Force, where it prototypes original IP and tests new tools, including volumetric capture and real-time motion systems. According to the founders, this studio work is not an afterthought. It is a proving ground for both technology and storytelling. They're using it to develop speculative pilots, music videos, and conceptual work for studios and buyers. In one example, the team built a short concept film for a fashion brand, with only photos of clothing samples to work with, within five days. Kusin said it nearly brought the founder to tears. 'This is my vision,' the client reportedly told them. 'And now it's real.' To gauge how this plays in practice, I asked for feedback from both a client and an artist. 'I had no idea this kind of turnaround was possible without compromising the creative,' said Kevin Miller, CEO of who recently worked with Kartel on a product launch video. 'I gave them very little direction, explained our market position, and two days later I had a full TV advertisement. We ran a media buy against it the next week.' From the other side of the pipeline, Matt Zien, a film and television producer and founder of KNGMKR Labs, a pioneer in generative AI content, described Kartel as a rare platform that respects both artistry and execution. "Kartel knows that these tools are nothing without the humans behind them. And the whole system reflects that." According to Peterson, Kartel has more than 100 opportunities in the pipeline and is currently executing multiple agency deals. The next stage of growth, he says, will require additional capital, and they are already preparing for a larger raise later this year.
