AI-Generated Viral Videos are Already Here (newyorker.com) 23
AI now "automates creative impulses," writes New Yorker staff writer Kyle Chayka — then wonders where that will lead. Chayka's first example is a Berlin-based photographer using AI tools to create a viral video showing Harry Potter characters as fashion models for the upscale French label Balenciaga:
A.I. tools were involved in each step of Alexander Niklass's process, and in each element of the video. He created the basic static images with Midjourney, evoking the Harry Potter actors and outfits through text prompts such as "male model, grotesque, balenciaga commercial." Then he used ElevenLabs — a "voice-cloning" tool — to create models of the actors' voices based on previously recorded audio. Finally, he fed the images into a service called D-ID, which is used to make "avatar videos" — subtly animated portraits, not so far off from those that appear in the newspapers of the Potter world. D-ID added the signature lip synchs and head nods, which Niklass explained were a reference to fashion models tilting their chins for the cameras.
The combination of child-friendly film and adult luxury fashion held no particular symbolism nor expressed an artistic intent. It's "entertainment," Niklass said. Yet the video's most compelling aspect might be its vacuity, a meaningless collision of cultural symbols. The nonsense is the point.
The article also cites a song where the French group AllttA performs with an AI-generated simulation of Jay-Z. Chayka marvels at a world where "The A.I. content has the appearance of realism, without actual reality — reality solely as a style.... it seems that a Rubicon has been crossed: It doesn't matter that these artifacts are generated by A.I.; we can just enjoy them for what they are. It happened faster than I thought possible, but now that A.I.-generated pop culture has entered the mainstream, it seems unlikely that we'll ever get rid of it."
Chayka asked ChatGPT how AI-generated imagery is changing our perceptions, and "It responded that there has been a 'blurring of the lines between real and artificial.'"
The article ultimately ponders the possible implications of "a world in which every style, every idea, and every possible remix is generated as fast and frictionlessly as possible, and the successful ones stick and get attention." But at the same time, Chayka believes the final output's quality still depends on the humans involved (arguing that the Harry Potter fashion video was still more "appealingly odd" than later AI-generated videos copying the idea, like "Matrix by Gucci," "Star Wars by Balenciaga," and "The Office by Balenciaga".) A.I. tools may have been able to replicate actors' faces and generate fashionable outfits, but only Niklass could have come up with the concept, which required keen observation of both high fashion and the wizarding world — and also a very specific, extremely online sense of humor. With tools like Midjourney publicly available to anyone online, "everybody can create something visually appealing now," he said. "But A.I. can't generate taste yet," he continued....
To put it another way, execution may have been democratized by generative A.I., but ideas have not. The human is still the originator, editor, and curator of A.I.'s effects.
The combination of child-friendly film and adult luxury fashion held no particular symbolism nor expressed an artistic intent. It's "entertainment," Niklass said. Yet the video's most compelling aspect might be its vacuity, a meaningless collision of cultural symbols. The nonsense is the point.
The article also cites a song where the French group AllttA performs with an AI-generated simulation of Jay-Z. Chayka marvels at a world where "The A.I. content has the appearance of realism, without actual reality — reality solely as a style.... it seems that a Rubicon has been crossed: It doesn't matter that these artifacts are generated by A.I.; we can just enjoy them for what they are. It happened faster than I thought possible, but now that A.I.-generated pop culture has entered the mainstream, it seems unlikely that we'll ever get rid of it."
Chayka asked ChatGPT how AI-generated imagery is changing our perceptions, and "It responded that there has been a 'blurring of the lines between real and artificial.'"
The article ultimately ponders the possible implications of "a world in which every style, every idea, and every possible remix is generated as fast and frictionlessly as possible, and the successful ones stick and get attention." But at the same time, Chayka believes the final output's quality still depends on the humans involved (arguing that the Harry Potter fashion video was still more "appealingly odd" than later AI-generated videos copying the idea, like "Matrix by Gucci," "Star Wars by Balenciaga," and "The Office by Balenciaga".) A.I. tools may have been able to replicate actors' faces and generate fashionable outfits, but only Niklass could have come up with the concept, which required keen observation of both high fashion and the wizarding world — and also a very specific, extremely online sense of humor. With tools like Midjourney publicly available to anyone online, "everybody can create something visually appealing now," he said. "But A.I. can't generate taste yet," he continued....
To put it another way, execution may have been democratized by generative A.I., but ideas have not. The human is still the originator, editor, and curator of A.I.'s effects.
how can it be viral, unless (Score:1)
you pukes are watching this garbage? stop it. *swats nose with rolled up newspaper*
The novelty will wear off soon (Score:2)
"Look, it's AI generated" will work for maybe a dozen videos. After that, nobody will give a fuck about them.
Unless AI somehow manages to pull off what thousands of marketing gurus can't, i.e. reliably predict how and what trend will go viral, this ain't going anywhere.
And if AI can, well, a couple thousand markedroids are out of work.
Either way, you might want to inform me why I should care.
Re: (Score:2)
Imagine you are an painter who does oil painting portraits and suddenly people invent photography then computer drawing programmes. You say "why should I care?" You can continue with your art, and train young people in your art if you like. You don't have to care about new inventions, you can continue living the way you always have. For example, I mostly ignore smartphone, people talk about Uber/Netflix and I say "Why should I care?" I'll actually call a taxi from my landline phone later tonight, meanwhile
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Nobody will call you when you have to care, because you never will have to if you don't want to.
It's all fun and games until people stop buying your oil paintings, because photographs are so much cheaper.
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So far, that didn't quite happen.
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And that's the thing, this didn't happen. Sure, photography took the world like a storm and everyone wanted to have pictures of themselves, and that's pretty much it: Everyone could now. Before that, having a picture of you was a matter for the rich and famous who could afford it, only these people even had the means to have a painting done for them.
That is by the way the key reason we have so few pictures of the working class people before the invention of photography. And even after it was mostly special
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Been playing with Bing's AI image generator and have to say I'm not that impressed with it (and I'm not too impressed with Bing Chat either). The results are very mixed, to say the least. Most of the images it created for me look kind of neat and maybe even plausible at first but if you look at them closely they are all just off in weird ways. It's kind of like a dream-like representation of reality really. I'm sure it's not as good as midjourney, though.
Re: The novelty will wear off soon (Score:2)
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If the machines wanted to rule us ... (Score:2)
what better way than to subdue us than with an endless stream of nonsensical, meaningless content? They don't have to rule with force, they only need to make us vaguely "happy", placid and stupid. This is literally the plot line of The Matrix. It's eye-opening just how primed the human race already is for this and we're willingly pushing ourselves towards it, as if it's actually worthwhile.
Disaster looming for that cassette player (Score:2)
How is this "AI-generated" (Score:2)
Balenciaga (Score:4, Insightful)
Harry Rightwing Potter (Score:2)
Seems to have added dash of nazi vibes :)
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Listen at least they had the decency to go to Hugo Boss and get some proper evil empire uniforms. Do you have any idea how embarassing it is to be genocided by someone in jeans and a random tshirt? It's just unprofessional let me tell you. If someone's going to try and wipe my entire race from the face of the earth I want them to at least put in enough effort to dress the part.
We know where it leads. (Score:2)
The totalitarian governments of the 20th century used avalanches of paper as a weapon against humanity. What ultimately defeated them was people with the humility to stay focused on ground truth and first principles, leaving the pe
Ice Ice Matrix... (Score:2)
off blinking (Score:2)