I spent this past Sunday afternoon watching and preparing an article on the new internet sensation that was the AI-generated Seinfeld Twitch stream, Nothing, Forever. I was struck by the genuine sense of thoughtfulness and consideration on display from the digitized characters. They seemed like actual friends. At a time when artists face the threat of losing their jobs to artificial intelligence trained on the work of those they may replace, Nothing, Forever seemed like a harmless exercise.
Once I finished writing, I made dinner, finished a bit more work, and ended the evening flipping back and forth between the Grammys and YouTube. The next day, as my AI Seinfeld piece was set to go live, I saw the news that the Twitch stream had been suspended after the virtual Jerry analogue made some transphobic comments during a stand-up routine.
We added an editor’s note at the opening of that article, which was posted with the promise of a follow-up under the headline “The Surprising Humanity of AI-Generated Seinfeld.” This is the ugly underbelly of that piece.
According to one of Nothing, Forever’s team members, the stream began to experience a technical outage and they switched over to a back-up language system with less robust moderation capabilities. This resulted in the offensive comments getting through. Put plainly, AI learn to replicate our own bigotry, so we have to take extra care to prevent that. When we don’t, Lawnmower Man Jerry Seinfeld suggests that all liberals are trying to destroy society.
A beloved AI comedian getting shut down for making transphobic comments is so absurdly on the nose that it feels like something that never made it out of the Black Mirror writers room. But in a way, that blunty absurd way, it cuts across so much of what we’re facing today. AI is replicating human art, but feed it too much humanity and it spouts hate speech.
Beloved comedians continue to betray their audiences by descending into transphobia for an easy laugh. And then there is the classic case of an internet sensation being revealed to be a complete piece of shit. It’s the sole reason for the term “Milkshake Duck.”
Of course, there are those who will use this as an opportunity to mock so-called “cancel culture” for silencing the AI Seinfeld. This is many things, but it isn’t that.
The Seinfeld series has had its brushes with controversy. Most obvious is the racist tirade that Michael Richards let loose on the stage of the Comedy Factory. His career was done after that. Meanwhile, Seinfeld has been able to escape allegations that he courted an underage woman while in his late 30s. I’ll just leave this here.
It’s significant that the same night that Dave Chapelle won a Grammy for a transphobic comedy special, an AI Seinfeld stream was suspended for saying that “transgender is actually a mental illness.” The algorithm came too painfully close to what comedy is like these days. Shit, Louis C.K. was also nominated.
People will try to claim that what you say can keep you off the stage forever, but that’s not the case. Some criminals went down, but you can still get awards and specials if you’re a draw. Industry awards support those who support the industry. No matter who you are.
I hate that I let myself be optimistic about something that let me down again. But at the same time, it’s oddly reassuring that the AI has managed to predict exactly how shitty folks can be.
