# the internet has made me suspicious of talented parrots

- Link: https://tacobout.online/2026/09/10/internet-ai-animal-videos-parrot-bob-haircut/
- Published: 2026-09-10T12:15:00-05:00
- Author: schwegler

this morning i saw a video of a parrot getting a bob haircut.

this is, objectively, exactly what the internet was invented for. not banking. not
work email. not whatever LinkedIn is doing. a parrot sitting patiently while somebody
gives it a tiny, immaculate little bob.

i was delighted for approximately the amount of time it took my brain to remember
that it is 2026.

> even more devastated that my gut reaction to amazing animal videos is now to google
> if it's AI or not
> — [schweg, (@schwegler.lol)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:djguxreovfe4bkm7sizg2kxk?ref_src=embed)
> [2026-09-10T15:53:04.560Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:djguxreovfe4bkm7sizg2kxk/post/3mv6fvdnrws2b?ref_src=embed)

and that is the part i hate more than the fake parrot.

the fake parrot is fine. honestly, she looked incredible. whoever generated her 
understood the assignment. the problem is that my first reaction to something delightful
online has quietly changed from _oh my god look at this_ to _okay but did this happen._

>  [@blindfocusworld](https://www.tiktok.com/@blindfocusworld?refer=embed)
> Haircut time ☺️ [#haircut](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/haircut?refer=embed) [#parrot](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/parrot?refer=embed)
> [#fypシ](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp%E3%82%B7?refer=embed)
>  [♬ original sound – Blind Focus](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7619078197048576782?refer=embed)

we have somehow added a CAPTCHA to joy.

now an animal does something implausibly charming and there is a tiny forensic investigator
in my head checking the feathers. counting toes. watching the background. wondering
why the barber’s hand briefly became an assortment of seafood.

![A green parrot perched on a person’s hand, illustrating the ordinary animal videos
the internet has trained us to second-guess.](https://i0.wp.com/tacobout.online/
wp-content/uploads/2026/09/parrot-trusting-animal-videos.jpg?ssl=1)

Photo by ANBARASU THIRAVIYAM, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

this is obviously not the largest problem created by generative AI. somewhere a 
lawyer is currently explaining to a judge why the case citations in his brief lead
to Narnia. democracy has several concerns. artists have approximately seven thousand
concerns.

but this smaller thing still sucks.

the internet used to have an informal bargain with me: if you showed me a baby elephant
interrupting a television reporter, a raccoon stealing somebody’s phone, or a bird
saying something with suspiciously good comedic timing, i was allowed to simply 
enjoy it until somebody in the replies explained that the video was actually from
2014.

that was manageable misinformation. i could live like that.

now every extremely good animal video arrives with homework.

![A green parakeet perched outdoors, accompanying a reflection on having to verify
whether charming animal videos are real.](https://i0.wp.com/tacobout.online/wp-content/
uploads/2026/09/parakeet-ai-detection-homework.jpg?ssl=1)

Photo by Rayhan Rashid, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

and i don’t even particularly want to become good at detecting AI video, because
that feels like learning to identify counterfeit money when all i wanted was to 
buy a little treat. i would prefer for the treat economy to contain fewer counterfeit
dollars.

mostly i am mourning the loss of being an easy mark for a talented bird.

i want to see a parrot with a bob and think, _good for her._

instead i opened google.