What’s the deal with artificial intelligence? A group has created an AI version of Seinfeld that runs on an endless stream live on Twitch. While the visuals and laugh track have been previously generated, the dialogue and “jokes” are all coming through the platform in real time. And it is slightly less disturbing than the fake David Cronenberg movie that was going around.
As per the Twitch page watchmeforever, “Nothing, Forever is always-on, runs 365 days of the year, and delivers new content every minute. Everything you see, hear, or experience (with the exception of the artwork and laugh track) is always brand new content, generated via machine learning and AI algorithms.”
In a promo video, the narrator explains the AI Seinfeld: “Dreamt up by a group of coders called the Mismatch Media, Nothing, Forever uses Dall-E, Stable Diffusion, GPT3, and other AI tools which are trained on classic sitcom scripts to make new episodes of Seinfeld.” The clip then shows what appears to be what Seinfeld would look, sound and feel like if it was scraped across an everclear-soaked cheese grater for a half hour. George seems to talk to the wall a lot, too.
Admittedly, the promotion continues, “It’s really rudimentary now, but experts say that the incredible pace of AI generation might allow fans to one day make new TV episodes and movies about anything they want.” Even, as demonstrated here, nothing. As of this writing, here is what I witnessed over the course of five minutes: Kramer and Elaine trying to coax Jerry (well, Larry) into entering a comedy contest. It then cuts to Larry on stage telling sorta-jokes about vacation and ending his set with this knee-slapper: “What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef!” Elaine also bought an espresso machine, which she thinks will help her wind down after a long day. And then–OK, I’ve got to turn this off before my brain melts…For the curious, you can watch the AI Seinfeld, Nothing, Forever, here.
Nothing, Forever has been streaming on a constant loop on Twitch since mid-December, meaning it has been on for more than 73,000 minutes. Compare that with the actual Seinfeld, which, with 180 episodes at approximately 22 minutes per, runs for a Netflix binge of just 3,960 minutes. Pathetic, Jerry!
Now that you’ve surely watched at least four hours of the AI Seinfeld, what do you think? Is there a place for such forms of entertainment? Let us know!
