AI has been used to give a terrifying new dimension to a long-standing problem with Amazon's Prime Video service.
Earlier this week, X posted a screenshot showing several options for watching the 1957 classic Twelve Angry Men on Prime Video: At first glance, there's nothing unusual about it, but upon closer inspection, it's clear that the thumbnail for the free streaming version of the crime film classic was clearly created by AI.
Not only are there 19 angry men on the jury, but most of their faces are distorted beyond recognition.
Social media is abuzz: “Prime Video promotes free version of 12 Angry Men with poor AI renderings of 19 deformed men. What garbage.” I have written One X user.
“Just watching the classic movie '19 Men' on Prime Video,” another post read. posthas been viewed more than 1.6 million times. “I honestly can't believe this is on the front page of a major streaming platform. We really have entered the age of AI slop.”
But instead of a pirated copy of 12 Angry Men, the AI thumbnail directs subscribers to the original version of the film uploaded by Orion Nova Productions, a studio that was acquired by MGM in the '90s. The second thumbnail was uploaded by MGM itself.
So why does Amazon Prime Video have two versions of the same movie, with different prices, and why do studios use messy AI artwork to promote their films?
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Decrypt.
Another user on Reddit suggested that the now-viral thumbnails are a result of content creators being able to upload their own videos to Amazon's streaming service via its Video Direct feature, with many people trying to make a quick buck by uploading pirated versions of classic films.
“Amazon gets more 'movies' and engagement with Prime Video, and the bottom digs make easy money. Everyone wins, except those who care about the quality of the movie,” they wrote.
But that's not such a big deal now — it's a long-standing issue for Prime Video, which aggregates a wide variety of channels into its library.
Apparently, the version of 12 Angry Men with the original artwork is available to rent directly from Amazon, while the AI-promoted film is available through the Freevee platform. In reality, it's not viewers using AI to ruin classic movies that are causing these issues, but problems with the streamers' search functions.
Editor: Stacey Elliott.
