### The Evolution of Memes: AI-Generated Twists
#### Introduction to AI-Enhanced Memes
Almost everyone online is familiar with the “Distracted Boyfriend” meme, where a man ogles a passing woman while his girlfriend looks on disapprovingly. This meme has become a staple of internet culture. Recently, AI-generated clips have started adding new layers of context to such well-known memes, sometimes interrupting the action or introducing eerie elements.
#### The Rise of Dream Machine
These AI-generated clips are created using Dream Machine, a model that was unveiled in February but hasn’t been publicly released yet. The accessibility of Dream Machine has inspired users like Lukas Robert Hron, a 23-year-old game developer from Sweden, to reimagine popular internet memes, including viral videos from the now-defunct platform Vine.
#### Viral AI-Generated Clips
On June 14, Hron posted a [clip](https://x.com/TwashTheMan/status/1801587681752658362) on X, modifying a 2013 Vine where a child incorrectly answers the question, “What’s nine plus 10?” In Hron’s version, a shadowy figure enters the room just before the boy gives his famously wrong answer. Accompanied by spooky music, the video intrigued and confused social media users, amassing over 30 million views in two weeks. As it spread, captions like ”[POV: time traveler comes to stop meme](https://www.tiktok.com/@ballinboy48/video/7381596906046131486?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7374494456463443498)” began to appear.
#### The Unsettling Nature of AI-Generated Content
These videos often evoke a sense of body horror due to AI’s uncanny depiction of human forms and movements. Hron, who also creates horror games, intended his video to be unsettling, but the strange visuals were largely due to Dream Machine’s imperfections. Other videos in the ”time traveler” trend show original characters being [chased by shadow figures](https://www.tiktok.com/@randoom_ginger9754/video/7381636446354050350?is_from_webapp=1&web_id=7374494456463443498), [morphing into unrecognizable creatures](https://www.tiktok.com/@aivideolab/video/7381238947516583211?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc), or [being consumed by monsters](https://www.tiktok.com/@averageitalian2010/video/7381854921206795553?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7374494456463443498).
“It’s a lot easier for AI to get things wrong, and that just makes them inherently scary,” Hron says.
#### The Future of Digital Content
While these AI-generated visuals may not replace the original memes, they represent a new wave of digital content and engagement on social media. What seems like bizarre meme-editing now could pave the way for a more skeptical online audience, one that questions the authenticity of even the simplest memes.
4 Comments
Can AI make memes funnier than humans?
AI might be stealing the fun from meme-making!
It’s a meme evolution, not a revolution.
Might AI make memes too perfect to be funny anymore?