AI-Generated Seinfeld Episodes Are Streaming on Twitch
AI-generated tech has been booming in recent months as internet denizens flock to programs for art, text prompts, and more created entirely by machine-learning programs. Two Seinfeld fans have combined several of these tools together to create "Nothing, Forever," a parody of the hit sitcom that is created entirely by AI, and never stops broadcasting on Twitch. The videos feature four characters that look like 3D renders of Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer, all conversing in Jerry's apartment like in the show, but largely speaking in bizarre dialogue. Interstitials like the TV series also occur, with exterior shots of the building and even the Jerry character performing stand-up, laugh track included.
"The actual impetus for this was it originally started its life as this weird, very, off-center kind of nonsensical, surreal art project," co-creator Skyler Hartle told Vice's Motherboard about the project . "But then we kind of worked over the years to bring it to this new place. And then, of course, generative media and generative AI just kind of took off in a crazy way over the past couple of years."
The Nothing, Forever "show" generates its dialogue using OpenAI's GPT-3 language model, combing with machine learning, generative algorithms, and cloud services. The creators also confirmed that "dialogue, speech, direction (camera cuts, character focus, shot length, scene length, etc), character movement, and music" are all decided by the AI.As the creators put it, in theory, "Nothing, Forever" being a non-stop version of Seinfeld could potentially pave the way for "nonstop" versions of your favorite shows in the future.
@motherboardvice It’s an AI-generated sitcom… about nothing. #seinfeld #twitch #ai #chatgpt #vice #tech #news
♬ original sound – Motherboard
"You don't just have seven seasons of a show, you have seven hundred, or infinite seasons of a show that has fresh content whenever you want it. And so that became one of our grounding pillars," Hartle added. "Our grounding principle was, can we create a show that can generate entertaining content forever? Because that's truly where we see the future emerging towards. Our goal with the next iterations or next shows that we release is to actually trade a show that is like Netflix-level quality."
One key difference in "Nothing, Forever" and watching a scripted show on TV now however, the AI-generated series is capable of changing based on the feedback that viewers provide. The show is averaging thousands of viewers on Twitch.