Reputation on the Line: What Really Defines Us?

What happens when your reputation is on the line? Our hosts dive deep into this question, sharing personal revelations about how others perceive them and whether it matters. Carmen admits she's often seen as "hard" (though Rick suggests "firm" might be more accurate), while Cynthia believes she's known for having "a big heart." Rick identifies as loyal and family-oriented, standing by his commitments even when difficult.

The conversation takes unexpected turns as the hosts explore the concept of "living so nobody can say anything bad about you" – an ideal that seems nearly impossible in today's world. Carmen shares a personal struggle about walking away from a grant opportunity despite needing funding, illustrating how sometimes we must choose between external validation and inner peace. When she finally sent the email withdrawing from the process, the immediate relief confirmed she'd made the right decision.

A spirited debate emerges when Rick mentions his interest in AI music creation, prompting a fascinating discussion about artificial intelligence, creativity, and attribution. Carmen raises thoughtful questions about using AI-generated content without crediting original creators, highlighting the ethical dilemmas content creators face in this emerging landscape. The hosts wonder if we might see a shift back toward valuing authentic, human-created content as AI becomes more prevalent.

The most compelling moments come when the hosts discuss how quickly reputation can be destroyed, particularly for social media influencers. They share examples of content creators who made mistakes and, instead of acknowledging them, doubled down and attacked critics – causing irreparable damage to their public image. This leads to the realization that how we respond to criticism might be more important than avoiding mistakes altogether.

Whether you're building a personal brand, navigating social relationships, or simply trying to live authentically, this conversation offers valuable insights into the delicate balance between caring about others' perceptions and staying true to yourself. Join us for this thought-provoking exploration of reputation, integrity, and the courage to stand by your convictions.

Thank you for stopping by. Please visit our website: All About The Joy and add, like and share.

You can now watch the livestream version of the show on YouTube at @CarmenLezeth

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Music By Geovane Bruno, Moments, 3481
Editing by Team A-J
Host, Carmen Lezeth


DISCLAIMER: As always, please do your own research and understand that the opinions in this podcast and livestream are meant for entertainment purposes only. States and other areas may have different rules and regulations governing certain aspects discussed in this podcast. Nothing in our podcast or livestream is meant to be medical or legal advice. Please use common sense, and when in doubt, ask a professional for advice, assistance, help and guidance.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to All About the Private Lounge
• 1:28 Discussing Personal Reputation
• 7:39 Career Dreams and Future Paths
• 20:15 AI Music Creation and Ethical Concerns
• 31:32 When Reputation Gets Ruined
• 42:59 Closing Thoughts on Reputation

Transcript

Welcome to All About the Private Lounge

Carmen Lezeth 0:08

wow, hi everyone, welcome to all about the private lounge. We are, uh always, always learning and enjoying the technicalities of restream, so shout out to restream that I pay so much money for. Yeah, woo, I am not advocating you get Restream, but I'm not saying you shouldn't. It's all a thing.

Rick Costa 0:31

So Rick Costas in the house.

Carmen Lezeth 0:34

Hi Hi, rick, how you doing what's up.

Rick Costa 0:36

What's up?

Carmen Lezeth 0:37

Cynthia Lopez Ruiz Ruiz Lopez Lopez. Oh Jess, cynthia, I'm just over. Hi, cynthia, how you doing? Hey, last week's episode was so great, so those of you who didn't catch the Private Lounge last week please check it out. It's so good with Dr Means and we got some decent hits and so I'm really excited about it. But really inspiring woman. So I just wanted to make sure For those of you who needed a little inspiration, she's the right person to go check out.

Carmen Lezeth 1:06

You guys checked it out right. Well, cynthia, you were on the show, but Rick, were you able to watch it at all? You were on the show On Sunday. I was watching oh you were on on Sunday, that's right. I'm so sorry.

Rick Costa 1:16

I'm so sorry, I'm on the show.

Discussing Personal Reputation

Carmen Lezeth 1:18

Look it, it's been a week. Okay, but yeah, so first let's start with. What do you think about your reputation? Does it matter to you what others think about you or what other organizations think about you? Or do you go into a bank ever and try to apply for a loan and not get one, and does that make you feel bad?

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 1:39

I think rejection makes anyone feel bad, regardless of what it is. Is it makes anyone feel bad regardless of what it is, but I don't think I've ever had to do anything like that. As far as reputation like my thing is, I always want people to know that I am a good person. Like somebody talks crap about me like it may or may not be true, you know, like Carmen always says, I'm the mean one, but there are times I can be. I can be, I'm not going to lie.

Carmen Lezeth 2:06

I'm just saying between you and me you're the mean one, but everyone thinks I am.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 2:18

For the most part, my reputation is I have a big heart and you know I do care about people and that is true and it does make you feel good and stuff. So I don't know, I think it just kind of depends on the reputation whether it matters or not.

Carmen Lezeth 2:28

But wait, I think it's interesting. So you think your reputation is is what again?

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 2:32

What was that again that I have a big heart and that I do care about people.

Carmen Lezeth 2:36

Big car- no, I'm just kidding Big heart. What else? Sorry, you gotta read what and what else, and that I care about people. It's true. What's your reputation? What do you think your reputation is?

Rick Costa 2:56

I think the biggest thing is can you be dependent upon? If can you be dependent upon, are you a man or a woman of your word? Do people think of you as truthful or yeah?

Carmen Lezeth 3:08

wait, but what's your reputation?

Rick Costa 3:11

what is my reputation?

Carmen Lezeth 3:12

yeah, what do you think it is?

Rick Costa 3:17

family oriented, clearly, because I'm taking care of my mom, which which is very hard. Super loyal and faithful to the end. Same job for over 20 years. Even though I get treated like crap, like loyal and through no matter what thick and thin, I'm there, I'm sticking with you, hello. Would you guys have been here the whole time? Even when it's super hard, I make a way. I find a way to go out and come out even if it's super hard, I make a way.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 3:51

I find a way to go out and come out, even if it's going through htw hockey sticks. But yeah, cynthia, what did?

Carmen Lezeth 3:53

you say, when you just oh, I said, and he's religious, you know, oh yeah, religious, yeah, I'm like, and what that's actually something that was when I first started getting religious was?

Rick Costa 4:04

it talks about reputation quite a bit in the Bible actually. So that was pounded into my brain of like make it so easy that people will talk bad about you. Live in such a way that nobody can say anything bad about you.

Carmen Lezeth 4:17

But is that really possible? I mean in such a way that nobody can say anything bad about you. Try.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 4:24

You can try, but the haters are still going to hate. I think that says more about them than it does about you. Yeah.

Carmen Lezeth 4:33

That's interesting. I don't know. I just, yeah, I don't want to get into it so what about you, carmen?

Carmen Lezeth 4:39

I think I'm hard. I think people think I'm pretty hard and mean Blunt Probably blunt is a better word. I think people think I might be funny, maybe a little bit too sarcastic or something. I think my reputation has more of a negative. I tend to look at the negative sides of what people think of me, not the good stuff. It's not that I don't care, I do care. But I think there's also something about being strong and I have conviction and I stand on what I believe. There are that part of it too. I am absolutely loyal until you fuck up and then I'm not. I will drop you quickly if I realize you're not a good person. So I think I have really strict rules and it bothers some people, but I think my reputation matters to me because I've worked so hard to try to be a good person.

Carmen Lezeth 5:36

It doesn't mean I always succeed. Being a good person doesn't mean you don't sometimes make mistakes and fail. You know what I mean. Like you do, but can you own up to it? Can you take the hit? You know what I mean. Can you get back up? You know that's. That's about integrity, that's about character, that's about perseverance. You know, and I think all of that is part of your reputation, you know, and I think it does matter to me. It matters to me a lot. People are like it don't matter, I don't care what people think. I care what people think because I've worked very hard to be who I am and I want you to think before you come in my space. You know what I mean. Like I don't want you to be confused as to who we're going to be if you're going to be in my life, because I definitely have boundaries and I definitely have um rules about being in my life and some people don't like it and that's okay, you know it's I do and I don't, both at the same time.

Rick Costa 6:37

I would like people to think well of me, but if you don't, you don't pay my bills.

Carmen Lezeth 6:45

I think it would be weird to walk around life thinking everybody thinks highly of you or thinks great you know, or like that you have a great reputation, you know. Somebody said it was about ego. That my problem is is I have too much ego. I'm like, okay, what do you want me to do?

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 7:03

I don't know what that means. I think they confuse ego with confidence. Yes. Okay, what do you want me to do? I don't know what that means. I think they confuse ego with confidence. Yes.

Carmen Lezeth 7:08

Okay, woo yes.

Rick Costa 7:11

One of the first words you said was hard. I would replace hard with firm. Okay, it's a slight difference, but it's a difference.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 7:21

It makes a difference.

Rick Costa 7:21

Hard is almost like impenetrable where firm is. I'm not backing down. Yeah, that's fair. That's fair, it makes a difference.

Carmen Lezeth 7:25

It's almost like impenetrable where firm is. I'm not backing down. Yeah, that's fair. That's fair, I'll take that. Yeah, I think I don't know.

Career Dreams and Future Paths

Carmen Lezeth 7:32

I think I made the decision about stepping away from the grants and it made me a little bit sad because I really think that we have something worthy, or that I have something worthy that needs funding. Do you know what I mean? But I had to make this decision because, number one, it was stressing me out. It was so stressing me out and it was making me like do you ever do something where you're just like you know you shouldn't be doing it, but you're doing it? But all your insides are like just, and I always listened to my instinct and I gave it a shot, know a shot.

Carmen Lezeth 8:04

Like I've been doing this for four weeks and I'm like you know what I'm done four weeks out of the 12 weeks. I'm like I'm out. At the beginning I was like, oh, okay, you have to do your business health and you have to fill out all the paperwork and you know you had to do all these time things. I'm like, okay, well, that's cool, I can do that. And I was getting up early or staying up late or whatever it was to do it and I was like, okay, this is fine, cause it's putting me in the process getting my business plan together, blah, blah, blah. But the next part? I just was like this is wrong.

Rick Costa 8:36

Yeah, plus, when you've already spent and consumed so much time doing something, there's a part of you is like well, I already spent all this time, so I might as well finish and follow through, but then that stress is like but is it going to be worth? That stress is going to cost me.

Carmen Lezeth 8:53

And you know what? I wrote the email to disengage from it. You know what I mean? I wrote the different emails. They don't care, there's so many people that don't give a shit. But I wanted to be professional or whatever, and the minute I sent it I felt like a whole other weight. I was like, okay, okay, that was the correct thing to do.

Rick Costa 9:17

And that tells you that that's the correct thing to do.

Carmen Lezeth 9:20

I know, but we still need money.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 9:22

We will find it, we will find it, we will find it, we will find it. Oh really, someone out there is listening and we will find it. You know what I mean, right.

Rick Costa 9:36

I'm going to do a feel the streams. No, feel the dreams. If you stream it, they will come.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 9:44

They will come, come. I love that so good I love it.

Carmen Lezeth 9:51

Yeah, if you stream it. Okay, rick rick, with the creativity you've been holding that for a while. Huh, if you stream it, it will go. Yeah, I just there. So many. I guess I started getting a little bit jealous because I'm watching so many people who are making money as content creators and they're horrible. I'm not trying to say I'm fabulous.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 10:18

I'm saying I'm at least as good as this person.

Carmen Lezeth 10:23

You know what I mean At least, but you have to. I think being a content creator is really really hard, and I'm not sure that's what I want to do either, but I'm going to try to do whatever I can so that we can bring in some money. You know what I mean. But I'm just shook at how hard things are sometimes and people don't seem to realize that because we don't talk about it.

Carmen Lezeth 10:46

Are there things that you guys do that people don't realize how hard it is for you to do? I mean, you don't have to share if you don't want to. I mean, rick, you always talk about your mom and that's fine, we can talk about that. I do think that's really hard and I always stop you, not because I don't want you to talk about it, but because sometimes I don't want you to talk about it, but cause sometimes I I don't want you to use your mama's content. You know what I mean, like, so that's why I stopped you. But are there things that you guys do that people don't know that you struggle with and that you you know?

Carmen Lezeth 11:14

like I just told everyone I just struggled with this and you know people think everything comes easy to me or whatever, and it doesn't nothing does Go ahead. Cynthia, cynthia, I felt.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 11:23

Getting up every day to go to work.

Carmen Lezeth 11:27

That's your struggle.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 11:28

That is my struggle.

Rick Costa 11:31

Nine to five grind.

Carmen Lezeth 11:33

Wow, are you really hating work this much now?

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 11:37

No, it's not. It's not. I don't hate. I don't hate the job. I wish management was better, but I don't hate the job. Do you think you've been there long enough now to make a determination? This is better than the last one. They both have their differences.

Carmen Lezeth 11:57

Yeah, exactly, really you couldn't wait to leave the other place.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 12:06

Yeah, no, and again, it was because of management was the reason why I left, and if it wasn't because of that I still would be there because I absolutely loved what I was doing. I had fun, you know, I enjoyed going every day, you know, and stuff like that, like I would work later or come in earlier if need be, or just because and this job it has, it has its moments and definitely has pros and cons. It's different.

Rick Costa 12:28

You need to be the manager.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 12:30

Yeah, maybe Would you want to be the manager. Probably not in healthcare. Are you done with healthcare? I think so Honestly. Today I said I need a career, not a job right now. There's a big difference. A career is something you absolutely love, it's something you worked hard for. A job is a job. A job pays your bills. You may not love it, you may like it here and there, but it's not what you want to do. I don't want. You may like it here and there, but it's not what you want to do.

Carmen Lezeth 13:06

So I don't want to go off of this, so I just get you to second. What would you want to do? Career wise.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 13:16

I mean like, like we've talked about before, I do want to still work with dead bodies, you know, still want to work with autopsies and things like that Cause. That, to me, is interesting.

Carmen Lezeth 13:30

You know what I thought she was going to be like. I really do want to make my cards. You know I was thinking about my arts and crafts. So you still want to move now from pathology to dead people?

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 13:42

Well it's still in the same in the same field, but honestly, like if it wasn't medical, I would want to like do either party planning or that, because that was my absolute like goal in the beginning was party planning. So, yeah, I know two totally different things.

Rick Costa 14:01

I know what if the voice of God came down and said you will prosper tremendously if you do your card business. Would you be like, okay, I'm going to drop everything and do that?

Carmen Lezeth 14:14

What if she wants to do party planning?

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 14:18

Just her hobby, the cards, yeah the cards, party planning yeah, I'd do it.

Rick Costa 14:24

Any kind of party, wedding party.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 14:26

Any kind.

Rick Costa 14:29

Wedding planner. Is that same? No, totally different.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 14:32

Yeah, yeah.

Rick Costa 14:34

Because don't they make a pretty decent amount?

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 14:36

Yeah, and weddings are expensive. So, yeah, you definitely make some money from that.

Rick Costa 14:43

You better not screw it up.

Carmen Lezeth 14:45

Right, exactly, I screw it up, right exactly. I'm shooketh, I'm shooketh. You haven't even been there a year yet. No, it's been a year, it's been a year On the 1st it was a year. Oh, July 1st. Okay, cool, Rick. What about you?

Rick Costa 15:02

Hmm, you know it's interesting because when I told y'all I started getting into this AI music creation, that kind of got me excited. I'm like, hmm, I wonder if that's know my thing, maybe something music wise. You know, I've written songs, I've sang songs, I've recorded songs. Now this got me excited again. So I'm like, could that be what I'm supposed to be doing, you know, as well as helping people and stuff, and you know I mean blah, blah, blah helping people blah blah, Even though I don't have.

Rick Costa 15:37

I never went to school for that, but people could call me that.

Carmen Lezeth 15:39

So Okay, but there's again, that's like her car, is like your hobby. I mean, you know what? I mean Like I don't mean that in a mean way. I feel like that's just a part of who you are. You're gonna, you're going to do that anyways. You know, you think you'd want to get back into the music business.

Rick Costa 15:54

I mean, I was never in the business, it was just.

Carmen Lezeth 15:56

Why not? It sounds like you're in the business now.

Rick Costa 16:00

It's a possibility I could. Even my bestie was like why don't you put your stuff on Spotify? You could make some money.

Carmen Lezeth 16:08

Why not? Everybody else is doing it.

Rick Costa 16:10

Right.

Carmen Lezeth 16:12

You never know, why are you not doing it?

Rick Costa 16:18

I'm constantly tired. I have so many things that I want to do, and then I get all excited I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that, and then I'm like okay, I'm mentally exhausted, I'm physically exhausted.

Carmen Lezeth 16:30

It's like okay, but you know it would be passive income. You've already created the song right, the first song. You've already created it. You've already done it right, you sang it on your phone.

Rick Costa 16:40

I have actual songs, not AI songs too, so recorded.

Carmen Lezeth 16:44

Okay, but you know, okay, I have this podcast right, we have All About the Joy. I started another one, carmen Talk, real quick. You would be like it doesn't? It's not like you have to go anywhere. It's not like you have to go anywhere. It's just really easy to put your music on Spotify. If it's done, you want me to send you a link how to do it. I'm just saying it could be passive income.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 17:06

Hey, like you said to me, if God came down and said your mom is taken care of, everything else is taken care of, what would you do?

Rick Costa 17:13

Exactly. If I got a guarantee, then watch out. Rick's going to care of what would you do Exactly?

Carmen Lezeth 17:18

If I got a guarantee, then watch out, Boo out, the way Rick's going to be like Carmen. I can't be on All About the Joy anymore.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 17:23

You know I'm, my song is number one.

Carmen Lezeth 17:25

I know I'm very busy. My song is number one right now in the religious charts and blah, blah, blah. I'm going to be going here and there and I'm just too busy for all about the joy. How are you doing? Did you get that? Grant you doing okay?

Rick Costa 17:43

Remember, I'm very loyal.

Carmen Lezeth 17:45

Yeah, you're very loyal. You're very loyal, so okay. So when it comes to reputation, would you be afraid that? Okay, for Rick, this is really interesting. Would you be afraid that if you took that leap and really interesting would you be afraid that if you took that leap and went on spotify and put your music out there that maybe nobody'd want to listen to it, would that bother you? Would that?

Rick Costa 18:04

would that change anything in my current life? No, nothing changes. If nothing changes, nothing changes. So would I be a little not happy about it. Be like oh well, but nothing is like. I'm at a point in life where only the important things matter.

Carmen Lezeth 18:23

Well that's fair.

Rick Costa 18:25

I just don't have time to deal with dreams and what ifs and da da da. I need to pay for groceries.

Carmen Lezeth 18:31

I know, but I dream all the time. I want to stop dreaming.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 18:38

Not everybody likes to say music, so I mean, oh yeah.

Carmen Lezeth 18:43

I mean it's a religious music thing that he's doing, so I'm not going to listen to it. I mean I support you 100%.

Rick Costa 18:50

I made a little outro now because the outro that I used to use it's literally on every single video was like a copyright free from youtube, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like you know what I've seen where they say copyright free and then later they change their mind and then it's like you got to take down everything. I'm like this is on every video. So I used ai and made my own and it was just like a flamenco guitar and everybody's like I love that song. That's really cool.

Carmen Lezeth 19:12

So the beats I don't know what you mean, what are we talking about? So at the end of my videos I have an outro.

Rick Costa 19:19

I have like an outro video and it's just music. It just shows different pictures and music and I'm done. Bye, everybody, love you, see you, bye. And then the music plays and then that's it. That's the end and. No, supposedly YouTube says this is free to use, copyright free.

Carmen Lezeth 19:35

Oh yeah, it is yeah.

Rick Costa 19:36

So but I again, I've seen things that I've used, things that they said were, and then they, I guess, changed their mind and then all of a sudden, like copyright strike, like Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. So I was like you know what, let me make my own and not to worry about that no more. So I did and everybody's like oh, that's a really cool song. I like this song. It's very, you know, peppy kind of spin.

Carmen Lezeth 19:55

Okay, but when you say I'm going to, I'm going to mess with you here. When you say you made it yourself, you used a I who stole it from a flamenco, whatever guitar player See what I'm saying.

Rick Costa 20:12

It creates it based on their database of all different types.

AI Music Creation and Ethical Concerns

Carmen Lezeth 20:14

Rick is so into his AI shit he don't want to embrace facts. It is stealing. This is look you know, I love me my AI the problem with AI in creation. That's why I want you to be careful about what you're saying too. It is stealing from creators, from other people, and not giving them credit, even though I know what you're saying. But it's actually not. It's not picking up a guitar and creating music for you. It is learning from all these different resources and none of those people are getting paid anything.

Rick Costa 20:47

Right but the actual, just like using this as an example. Is that exact song made that somebody else made and it just said I'm going to steal it?

Carmen Lezeth 20:56

I'm sorry, what what?

Rick Costa 20:57

the exact song that it created. That's literally somebody's song that somebody made, and they just said, oh, I'm gonna swipe it from there and say it's ai. Now, like I think it's still created, unique by ai, but influenced by but ai is not a human being to create anything.

Carmen Lezeth 21:13

Ai will tell you itself that it can't create any like. It's not, it's not sentient, it can't create something. So what it does is it takes stuff and then it mashes it together to create something. We all do that, by the way. That's what we all do. You know what I mean? Right, right, right.

Carmen Lezeth 21:31

But what I'm saying is is you're worried about, so, let's say, cynthia wrote a song, she hummed a song or whatever, and she recorded it and she put it. And then she said this is free for anybody to use. And she said that it's royalty free, whatever, because she just wants people to know that Cynthia is a a great musician, hummer, person, right, because that's what a lot of people do, who give their music for free, because what they want is to have it used, and then maybe somebody will make it big, and then they'll you know what I mean. Like that's why I give them credit in the show notes or whatever that I think when they make it big. But I'm just saying but what AI does is AI is like oh, I'll go into AI and say can you, I want a piece of poetry that talks about what it's like to make cards and work in a pathology lab. Can you get me any information on that? So AI goes and looks and is like oh, here is Cynthia. Cynthia works in a pathology lab, she's a creative person and she wrote a song and I'm going to extract things and then I'm going to add it from Bob over here, and now I'm going to add it from Bob over here and I'm going to, and now I'm going to create something else. The problem is, nobody is giving Cynthia or Bob or anybody else credit, nowhere. Co-pilot chat, gbt, gemini None of them are saying you know what, cynthia? We use your stuff to learn, so we want to give you some money or want to at least give you credit. I'm just saying I think it would be. This is just how I'm feeling about it, because I'm trying as a person who actually writes and creates stuff that has nothing to do with AI.

Carmen Lezeth 23:11

Even I know it went and took my book. It can easily go and take my book. I've asked it and it is yes, carmen wrote a. It says Carmen Lisette wrote a really good book, and here's what it's all about. And I'm like motherfucker, you know what I mean. I read the whole book in like a minute or whatever, and it gives you a whole summary and it tells you all about it and it decides how good or bad it is, or whatever. And I'm like did it create that summary all in it? No, it went and looked at Amazon and took other you whatever. And I'm like did it create that summary all in it? No, it went and looked at on Amazon and took other. You see what I'm saying? It went and took other people's stuff.

Carmen Lezeth 23:41

It actually didn't figure it out on its own, whether it liked it or not. It's not actually human, you know. I'm just saying the better way is to just look at it as that. Like when you just said that you're creating this Flamingo music or Flamingo Flamenco music, you're not. You know what I mean. Like you're using AI, because unless you picked up a guitar and started doing it you see what I just. I just think it's fair to say that you're using AI and to just be on Cause I think that's how you're going to safeguard yourself in the future.

Carmen Lezeth 24:17

Like when I did my business plan, I credited Copilot as helping me edit it. You know what I mean. Like I'm not going to mess with that. I didn't have it write it for me. But I did write stuff and then have it go in and fix grammatic, whatever, so it sounded more professional, whatever. So I, you, so I wrote that it was also AI helped edit this, whatever. I didn't write it that way. I actually asked Copilot how to write that. It's like a little thing at the bottom. But I'm not trying to push you down.

Carmen Lezeth 24:49

I do think with AI it's going to be really difficult. And how do you safeguard your reputation so you don't look like you're cheating? That's what I keep thinking about. Like I don't want anyone to tell me that I'm cheating. In the same respects, I feel like AI is leveling the playing field because I don't have an editor. I've never had somebody who could help me. I've never had an assistant who can help me with all the different things I need help with. You know what I mean. So again, I think you should use AI. I love AI, I'm a fan. I just think if you're going to do it and you're worried about actual people who have told you that it's royalty free or whatever, I would be more careful that people will question if you're actually creating something when actually all you're doing is prompting it.

Rick Costa 25:41

Right, you're prompting it to do something and then it's creating it, right it's a tough one I've not shied away from saying, and when I did first tell people, oh, we got a new intro or outro, and I used AI like I didn't shy from that, I said it, you know.

Carmen Lezeth 25:57

Right, I'll say this like Joel. You guys know Joel Joel sent me a thing, because he's going to help me direct my film, that I want to do my short Again out of the 95 things I'm going to do in the next year. But anyway, it's just a thought. But he sent me an AI thing where basically, you prompt it and it does the movie. And I was like, well, you know, I text him back. I'm like, well, I guess I won't be needing you then, so you're off the hook for being the director.

Carmen Lezeth 26:25

And he was like I'm directing this film and I'm like I don't understand the concept. I don't understand the concept, I don't understand what this is. But I was just like I'm going to leave it alone. But how do you direct a film if I'm just going to input, like if I go into that prompt right, and it's a I think it's Google that's created this new you've seen this right when you just go in and prompt it. So if I go in and say I could direct it because I know what I want, you know what I mean, but is that really me directing?

Carmen Lezeth 27:04

He seems to think he still needs to direct. I'm like, bitch, I can prompt the shit myself. I don't need you now. Does that mean I'm Steven Spielberg? I don't need you now. Does that mean I'm Steven Spielberg? I don't think so. We're in an interesting place. You know what I mean, and I don't even know if I want to do it that way. I think what's going to happen is because of AI and so much technology. I think people are going to want the real stuff. Yeah, yeah.

Rick Costa 27:31

What if we have a huge shift to everything, becomes so much AI and people start to say you know what? There's some, I know it seems really real, but I missed the real.

Carmen Lezeth 27:44

I think the thing about AI whenever we watch it like when I watched Star Trek next generation you know they're in space, they can't go to the beach and so to keep the crew sane, it makes sense that there's this computer and the holodeck and this ability to create things so that you can try to take a walk on the beach or whatever it is, or get help and assistance and whatever. So that makes sense. But I think what's going to happen I think I'm already kind of seeing it is that people are going to be craving to be in situations where they're actually in real life again. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think that's an actual good thing. Look at even Sinners, the movie Sinners. God, we're all over the place with this show today. Show today Ryan Coogler. He went back old school filming that. Right, you saw all the background on that. He went back with old school film and shit. I don't even know what it all means, but I was intrigued when he could have just easily used whatever the digitized version of it all is.

Rick Costa 28:51

Giving old music, bringing old music into it, yeah, so I think, it's going to bring about it.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 28:56

New is not always better.

Carmen Lezeth 29:00

Interesting. Or maybe it's technology is not always better. That too, yeah, I think AI has a bad reputation.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 29:10

I mean, think about it, the movie Hidden Figures like she was a genius in math and they're trying to use all this new math and what ended up happening? She went back to the old math to find these figures, to get this man to land correctly. So, like I said, new is not always better. Sometimes you have to go back.

Carmen Lezeth 29:33

Yeah, and how do we bring this back to reputation? How do you bring it back? Yeah, no, no, I do. I do think AI has a bad reputation. That's an easy segue. Actually, you know, I love AI. I think it's going to be used more as a tool, but then there are people who are just scaring the hell out of everybody, saying that it's going to be worse. So I don't know, I don't know how to end this segment. You guys don't make this easy for me.

Rick Costa 29:59

A lot of this always happens in the Christian world. Whenever something new comes out, oh, this is going to be the Antichrist, this is going to be a tool of the Antichrist. So now it's AI that's going to be the tool of the Antichrist. I'm so tired of y'all. Everything new is the Antichrist.

Carmen Lezeth 30:17

What does the Antichrist mean for those of us who are not Christians or atheists or whatever? Listening to the show.

Rick Costa 30:23

He's going to be like a world leader that rises up and seemingly brings peace to all the world, but then all of a sudden he's going to be like psych and cause complete havoc and try to kill everybody. The devil.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 30:36

Basically Sort of yeah.

Carmen Lezeth 30:39

If your reputation was wiped clean tomorrow, what would you do differently?

Rick Costa 30:47

I don't think I'd do anything differently.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 30:50

Yeah.

Rick Costa 30:51

I is who I is and always will be.

When Reputation Gets Ruined

Carmen Lezeth 30:56

I don't know if I would do anything differently. I mean, I think if you live authentically and you do the best you can every day, that's all you got. I don't have any major skeletons in my closet that I would want to go back and fix or change. No, I'm being serious Like I don't know of any. You know, like some people have some bad stuff. It ruins their reputation. I did background checks on YouTube so I know no, I'm just kidding Whose opinion actually matters to you and why? My husband and my kids. That's it. My opinion doesn't matter of you, Eh? No, your husband and your kids.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 31:37

Okay, rick.

Rick Costa 31:39

Ultimately sorry to say. God, not sorry to say, but how did you say that? No, I know.

Carmen Lezeth 31:48

This isn't an atheist podcast. You can never mention God.

Rick Costa 31:54

I'm all about the joy Ever you ask me how I feel I got to tell you the truth. And then, other than that, my family and close friends, other than that, again, y'all don't pay my bills, so I don't care what you think about me. Really, I mean, I want you to think nice things.

Carmen Lezeth 32:08

You know what I care. I care about my reputation. I do, I know I know. Like I mean I don't care if you don't like me, but I care that the reason why you don't like me is because I'm being my authentic self and you can't handle it. Do you know what I mean? Like I, does that make sense? Like I know we're not supposed, like it's so funny, right, and I'm not saying you guys, but everyone does that. I don't care what people think about me and then they're talking about it for 25 minutes, but what she did, let me tell you. I'm like, if you care, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Carmen Lezeth 32:42

You know, Like I care what people think of me and I think it doesn't bother me if people don't like me, if the reason why they don't like me is because they don't understand or they're being ridiculous. You know what I mean. If I do something unintentionally and I hurt someone that matters to me. You know what I mean. I do care if I hurt somebody or I do something unintentionally, so I do care what other people think. You know what I mean. Like I do care if I hurt somebody or I do something unintentionally, that, so I do care what other people think you know what I mean. I think there's a lot of these things in our heads that we've come to believe and I don't think it's actually true. It sounds nice, but I don't think it's actually true. I think we all care.

Carmen Lezeth 33:26

We're social beings.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 33:28

Yeah, as we just say, like I told you, it was a year that I started my job and what I did was I actually emailed two of the doctors I work with and I said you know, it's been a year since I started and I wanted to get your feedback on my work. You know? No, they were actually really good they both said I'm doing a great job and and so I mean, in a way, you know, even though you say you may not care, some people may say that they don't care.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 33:56

They do care you know whether they're doing a good job. You know with work or at home, or with their friends, people do care.

Carmen Lezeth 34:03

Yeah, I think when we talk about not caring what people think, it's actually been morphed into something different. I think what we mean is people who don't matter to us, people who are people we don't want in our lives or, like you said, people who don't pay my bills Okay, those people who don't care about. But in the big scheme of things, like especially if you watch people on Tik TOK, like big time creators who then make one mistake and everyone's hating on them or whatever you know what I mean, like and I you know, I don't know what some of these people do, but I'm like well, they did, they made one mistake and they hate them forever and then the then the creator has a choice. They can either apologize or, you know, own the mistake and move on, or they can stand in the bullshittery and make it so much worse. Do you guys know, own the mistake and move on, or they can stand in the bullshittery and make it so much worse. Do you guys know who the hat lady is? Okay, the hat lady, she's cuban and she had a huge following. I mean, she still has a huge following, especially compared to me. I have nobody. I love the people who follow me. I'm just saying like, um, but she came across as somebody who really cared about, you know, latinos and everything that's happening, especially with politics that's going on, and you know a lot of these ICE abduction things that are happening with so many migrants and immigrants and whatever. I'm totally going to mess up the story a little bit, but the gist is still important. So I don't going to mess up the story a little bit, but the gist is still important. So I don't mean to lie.

Carmen Lezeth 35:33

She was talking about how ICE raided a massage parlor and the massage parlor, clearly for people on the audio, has happy endings. Let's just put it that way. Everyone knows what that means. Okay, the massage parlor was full of Asian women and all of these women got taken by ice or whatever. And this Latina woman who seems to be an advocate and whatever and seems to be, you know, against ice or whatever, was laughing about that and saying, well, that's good, that place should be shut down because it's it's not a really good massage parlor. You know what kind of massage and those women needed to be, and she went on a tangent about it and I remember watching it being like what is wrong with this woman? Anyway, long story short.

Carmen Lezeth 36:19

She's gotten so much from other big creators as well, backlash from the whole thing because her whole reputation has just been shot, not because she made the mistake right. She made a mistake. What she didn't realize and what other, especially Asian, big time creators were telling her is a lot of those women are sex trafficked into this country and they have to pay off their bill before they're let go to try to get a job in the United States, and they are going through the same thing that these other immigrants are going through here in this country. And you chose a lot of them. So do you think she was like oh my God, I made a mistake. I know she fucking doubled down. She doubled down and then she started going after the big time creators who pointed this shit out to her. So now everyone me too I did a video this morning and I couldn't take it in my mouth, but it's this kind of thing, like she just ruined her reputation and now what I realize is that maybe who I thought she was all along was not really true.

Carmen Lezeth 37:31

Because that's what happens when you mess with your reputation. Right Like now I realize, like wait a minute, I was supporting her, and I don't mean financially, but I was, you know, watching her, I was following her, whatever. And now I realize she was always anti everyone else except her people. No, no, I'm, I'm not only anti everyone who hurts people who are Black and Latina. You know what I mean. They must be that mix. No, I am anti anyone hurting anyone else. Period, Yep With a T. You know what I mean. So she ruined her reputation. She lost so many fun. She lost me like within a minute. I couldn't believe what I was. I was like she did not just say that and I went back and checked Is this the? Maybe I'm following the wrong person? Let me just see.

Rick Costa 38:25

I think I saw something too with a girl that she also just totally ruined her reputation, also just totally ruined her reputation. You probably heard about this where she this she convinced this little older woman who was a little bit mentally impaired to go into the ocean and she said I'll give you 20 if you jump into the ocean not even knowing if she could swim or not, and she couldn't. And then they're like oh that's a big time tick tocker right she must be, and then she had.

Rick Costa 38:51

She went to some place to like say hi to the fans, and nobody showed up yeah, yeah, that's I.

Carmen Lezeth 38:56

I don't know her name, but that that's a really big deal because she used her platform and then abused it. Yeah, because the woman could have died yeah, wow, it was really, really bad. I don't and that that to me. Here's the thing the hat lady woman, she's older like, she's older than I am Like, and I'm like I don't think you were an adult, you should know better.

Carmen Lezeth 39:21

Like even in your initial like, cause I watched her say it, it wasn't like I you know what I mean. Like I watched her say this thing and I remember being like what is wrong with this woman? Like, does she not know that these women now have been caged somewhere? Like, what are you doing? And and like just to one more, one more thing that pissed me off, cause I just have to say this I don't know why people get mad at quote, unquote, let's just say prostitutes or women of the night or whatever. How come you don't get mad at the johns or the like that's who just gets me so angry? You know what I mean. Like you get mad at the wrong people. Why are you getting mad at the victims who are trying to make a living and shouldn't, in this fucking country, have to be doing this kind of work anyway? Okay, that, let me just. Let me just back up.

Carmen Lezeth 40:11

Yes, that content creator who I don't know what her name is. I don't follow her, but I saw that no one showed up and she had like a greet and meet because she was trying to re-establish herself again because she had made this huge mistake and did what she did and nobody showed up. But then I thought it was also bad that people went in there and were like take you know showing, ha ha, take you know showing video of no one showing up. I'm like okay, because now you're getting clicks and money for making fun of somebody who's clearly hurting. No matter what someone does, if you're really a good person, it's not that you wish ill will on them. You wish for them to learn a lesson and move forward, but you don't then turn around and make money off of them. But everybody's always making money off of somebody. I saw that though.

Carmen Lezeth 40:57

Yeah, okay, the only opinion that matters to me is all of my audience. No, I'm just kidding, we got to close out with that. Yeah, no, I think opinions of other people matter to us because we're social beings. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Yeah, no, I think opinions of other people matter to us because we're social beings. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But, like Rick said, if they ain't paying the bills, you don't need to cry about it, you know. But, okay, well, thank you for that, guys. That was an all over the place joyful Sunday conversation. That started with reputation and I guess we'll end with reputation and Cynthia, thank you, you're going to find us some money Very excited, leaving that. Now I just need. I'm looking for $80,000.

Rick Costa 41:44

So if you could do that, all I got to do is write a hit song, and then we're good to go.

Carmen Lezeth 41:51

Rick you can just go and put a little note that AI helped you, what credits do and you know what. Can I just finalize something with that? Everybody is struggling with this and I'm not saying that my opinion is the right one. I'm just saying everybody is struggling with this right now. I'm just saying this whole thing like are you actually creating something if you're using AI? I don't know. Right, I say no, but you know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know If somebody's editing your guitar, making that's different.

Rick Costa 42:27

Yeah, I have to turn it over with the actual songs that I'm doing, and the last one I did I wrote the lyrics myself, so at least I can say that much.

Carmen Lezeth 42:36

This is my song. No, that's for sure. I think that's for sure, that's for sure.

Rick Costa 42:40

And it was a song about grief and I sent it to certain people that I know are in it and they were like that was so beautiful and, yes, I cried. I was like I just want to see a good song so beautiful. Are you going to sing it for?

Closing Thoughts on Reputation

Carmen Lezeth 42:54

us? No, all right. Well, everyone, thank you so much. Remember we're here on Friday nights at 6 pm Pacific, 9 pm Eastern, always here on Sundays. We're so grateful for you to join us at 12 pm Pacific, 3 pm Eastern. My brain is not working. Have a great rest of your week and remember, at the end of the day, it really is all about the joy, all about the joy.

Cynthia Ruiz Lopez 43:19

Bye, everybody, bye.

Carmen Lezeth 43:23

Thanks for stopping by. All About the Joy Be better and stay beautiful. Folks have a sweet day.