It feels like memes have been around since the day of the internet, doesn’t it?
But artificial intelligence (AI) certainly feels like a relatively new development.
Combine the two together and you’re going to have a lot of people seriously freaked out.
Madni Aghadi, a content creator on X, created a thread to bring some iconic memes to life.
He did so using Dream Machine by Luma AI which, according to the site’s website, is an ‘an AI model that makes high quality, realistic videos fast from text and image’.
Let’s just say… the results were interesting.
Recognize this photo? Of course you do. (David Roth)
First up was the ‘Distracted Boyfriend’ meme, in which a man is caught rubbernecking and checking out another woman in front of his girlfriend.
The meme is often used to convey the creator’s preference of one thing over another.
But once motion is brought into the meme, a little story begins to play out.
Safe to say, the distracted boyfriend is no longer just looking – he’s making a move on the other woman.
The outraged girlfriend seems a little defeated by the whole situation, as she turns away from her unfaithful partner.
Next up was the ‘Smiling Disaster Girl’.
This is the meme that shows a smiling girl standing ominously in front of a burning house.
It could be straight out of a horror movie, but is a humorous meme on the internet.
Go figure.
In the moving version, the firefighters working to tackle the blaze are seen talking among themselves.
But the creepy girl in the foreground?
She remains unnaturally still, never moving her eyes from the camera.
Spooky!
Other meme classics got the AI treatment, including Doge, GigaChad and ‘Side Eyeing Chloe’.
The ‘Facepalm’ meme featuring Patrick Stewart’s Star Trek character, Captain Picard, was an interesting case.
Once put into motion, it turned into… someone else.
The AI memes had some mixed results. (X/@hey_madni/Luma AI)
No matter what was put through the AI program, the reaction among X users was broadly the same – horror.
One user wrote: “Delete this thread.”
While a second wrote: “Incredibly creepy.”
Another disgusted user simply tweeted: “That is horrible.”
Someone else added: “Now that’s creepy. It’s learning and becoming self aware.”
Others branded the thread ‘pointless’ and ‘awful’. But there were a few supportive voices among the dissenters.
One fan commented: “The pace at which AI is evolving is completely mind-blowing.
“The real fun is yet to come!”
“Memes are about to get wild,” was the verdict of another X user, as a fellow fan said: “Luma’s AI output looks incredibly lifelike.”
AI isn’t quite taking over the world just yet, but in the meantime, it’s amusing – and angering – people online.
Featured Image Credit: David Roth/X/@hey_madni/Luma AI
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Social Media, Weird