AI Mario Horrifies CES 2024 Attendees
AI Mario, AI George Carlin... this is getting out of hand.
A lot of different companies have been experimenting with AI lately, and sometimes the results are pretty horrifying. For example, attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show were recently introduced to a holographic AI version of Mario created by the company Proto. Video of the monstrosity was shared on Twitter by user @ProbChild_, in which he asks the AI Mario various questions. The answers are all in a bizarre voice, and sound like they were pulled straight from Google. As clips of the AI went viral on Twitter, many fans began to wonder if this had somehow gotten Nintendo's official Seal of Approval.
Video of the AI Mario can be found in the Tweet embedded below.
So Mario was at #CES
— Greggory (@ProbChild_) January 10, 2024
But uh… who approved this abomination? 💀 pic.twitter.com/diG3axCJIG
Was Proto's AI Mario Approved by Nintendo?
The whole situation is super strange, considering how protective Nintendo tends to be when it comes to the characters it owns. A lot of fan made games have been shut down over the years, and Nintendo is always looking to ensure its characters aren't used in a way that could be detrimental to the brand, or aren't used in a way that could be mistaken for official use. The company is also very careful about Mario's voice; outside of his early TV appearances, there have been very few people that have officially voiced Mario. For the last few decades, Mario's voice was exclusively performed by Charles Martinet, while 2023 saw Kevin Afghani take over the role for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Chris Pratt for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. As it turns out, this AI creation was not approved by anyone at Nintendo. IGN was able to get a comment from Proto, and it seems that, just like AI George Carlin, no one got permission for this,
"The AI hologram animation briefly seen today is an unfinished proof of concept tested for a client to demonstrate technological capabilities and innovation. It is not intended for commercial release. AARP and Nintendo were not involved in the inadvertent showing today. The fact that so many gamers of the world have taken notice shows that they are the best fans in the world and we salute them," Proto told IGN.
Will We See this AI Mario Again?
It's pretty surprising that a company would use Mario's likeness in this way, even if it was an "inadvertent showing," as Proto states. While the voice might be nightmare inducing, the hologram's appearance is a dead-ringer for Mario's real design, which could easily have made some attendees assume Nintendo had involvement. Since this was only at one event, it's impossible to say if there will be any legal repercussions, or some kind of a cease and desist to prevent it from happening again. Considering how scary the whole thing is, hopefully this is the last we've seen of AI Mario!
Are you surprised this AI Mario was on the floor at CES? Do you think this is the last we've seen of it? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
[H/T: IGN]