What’s the deal with AI? Endless, computer-generated ‘Seinfeld’-like show goes viral
Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on February 2, 2023
There have been a lot of stories lately about how AI programs like ChatGPT will someday replace the need for actual humans writing articles and ads, but for now, sitcom writers’ jobs are safe. That said, a new example of the tech has people laughing.
Generated by Chat GPT and DALL-E — the latter which makes art based on human descriptions — Mismatch Media’s Nothing, Forever is a Seinfeld-like show that launched on the watchmeforever channel on the streaming platform Twitch December 14, and has been playing ever since.
Endlessly.
That’s not to say it’s on a loop, but it’s literally a low-fi looking, endless send-up of the sitcom that plays 24/7, with the comedic touch that only a synthetic mind could create. There’s a Jerry character called Larry Feinberg, an Elaine (named Yvonne Torres), a George (dubbed Fred Kastopolous), and, of course, a Kramer (named Zoltan Kakler). The humor is as random as the character names.
This particular “show about nothing” is truly absurdist art at its finest: ‘Larry’s’ stand-up is often not funny — again, machines don’t have funny bones — and the camera angles are as wonky as the characters’ motions. But at any given time, thousands of people are watching it, and Nothing, Forever has even spawned its own memes.
And because the tech is constantly churning out new material, there are no reruns.
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