Over the past few months, we’ve seen quite a few controversial uses of AI art. From art and photography contest winners to AI “models” in the background of fashion and Netflix animations, new controversies erupt almost every week. But AI-generated John Lennon provokes what has to be the most universal hostile reaction ever.
This eerie, tone-deaf AI video brings John Lennon (just) to life, saying “Give Prompto a chance” “Prompto has everything you need” If not, check out our selection of the best AI art generators to see what tools are available and learn more about how they work in our best AI art tutorials).
#𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 Check out this great use case created by @jonarotting with @HeyGen_Official. 🎶 To make your own #aivideo, visit https://t.co/t4CAXb0ywQ#JohnLennon #GenerativeAI #AI #MidjourneyAI pic.twitter.com/hv8JEvBBsIMay 23, 2023
AI John Lennon video was made by a freelance creator Jonah Rotting It uses the generation AI video platform HeyGen. I’m not sure if “HeyGen” itself is a pun on The Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” but the John Lennon video contains some of the worst reworkings of pop lyrics ever written. , all mashing up phrases from various Lennon and Beatles songs in support of the AI revolution.
In this AI creation, the eerily haughty Liverpool voice, the world the legendary songwriter asked us to ‘imagine’ in his famous 1971 song is finally here thanks to AI suggests that it did. Yes, it is. Lennon wasn’t envisioning a utopian vision of world peace, but a future where dead celebrities could make videos saying whatever they wanted.
HeyGen itself describes the video as an “amazing use case”. A potential use could be a campaign to discourage people from engaging with AI-generated videos. Meanwhile, Rotting describes the video as “a tribute to my hero.” The only silver lining is that the unification of the Internet seems to have achieved something even John Lennon never thought possible. It has to be one of the most unanimous verdicts Twitter has ever seen, with reaction after reaction expressing their horror at the video’s tastelessness.
“It’s a level of disrespect and propaganda,” said one. “This is horribly disgusting and fundamentally wrong. You should be ashamed of yourself for creating this, and for wanting to create it in the first place,” wrote another.
We’ve seen many examples of AI art using deceased celebrities, such as photos of forgotten icons. They were actually surprisingly moving, and at least had a little bit of artistic merit. But to “resurrect” an icon like Lennon not for voicing his own message, but for shallow self-promotion, shows a strange lack of awareness and sense.
Had the video itself been good, we might have expected to see at least some positive response. But it doesn’t just taste bad. It’s downright bad and does little good for AI sales. Many argue that it would have been better to have hired an actor who bears little resemblance to John Lennon. The lifeless Lennon barely moved, and his voice was clearly digital. “It’s like the Tupac hologram sucked even harder,” one person said. “Congratulations on building something computer-like,” someone else replied.
Such a misguided attempt to bask in the limelight distracts from the real potential uses of AI art and AI image generators and, as a result, offers a more compelling alternative to an already highly controversial technology. It will turn a lot of people against it. For more examples of what people are doing with AI, check out our selection of the weirdest AI art.
