Jerry Seinfeld responds to viral AI version of Seinfeld
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, Technology, Twitch
Joe Harker
Featured Image Credit: Sipa US / Alamy / Reddit u/fourthwaveska
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, Technology, Twitch
Jerry Seinfeld has commented on the AI generated version of his sitcom Seinfeld, which is streaming continuously on Twitch.
Seinfeld was famously described as 'a show about nothing', and in that vein tech whizzes have put together Nothing, Forever, an infinite procedurally generated livestream parodying the famous sitcom.
Speaking at an event, the actual Jerry Seinfeld was chatting with his audience when the topic of the AI sitcom came up and it's safe to say he was pretty sceptical about what it could do.
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The dialogue comes from an OpenAI called GPT-3, while also using a number of other advanced programs to script and depict the procedurally generated show.
One of the key features about the show is that the narrative can be altered depending on what people are saying about the show, so Twitch users can have a hand in steering what the AI decides to write.
When Seinfeld himself spoke about the show, it sounded as though he hadn't seen it but was pretty certain it wasn't going to challenge his classic sitcom's status.
The comedian asked the audience 'does it write new things' and wanted to know whether anything the AI came up with actually made sense or not.
Seinfeld guessed not, joking that the show would be 'AI crap' and that no computer program in the world would be stupid enough to properly recreate the comedy of his show.
He said: "Well that's great, because 180 episodes is not nearly enough, let's make it 180 million.
"AI? I'm not worried about AI because you have to be... AI can be definitely, they'll make it smarter and smarter but to do this you'll have to make it dumber."
"I don't know if they've got that technology."
Despite being written by an AI, Nothing, Forever has gained quite a following online and people are actually enjoying the comedy on show.
It might not make any sense but viewers have found it gives the show a certain surrealist comedy vibe, with people interested in following the stories of Seinfeld parody characters Larry, Fred, Yvonne and Kakler.
The official Seinfeld Twitter account has also acknowledged the existence of the show, tweeting out a link so people could watch it on Twitch and joking 'the robots are coming... and not just robot butchers'.
The whole thing started back in 2019 when Microsoft Azure manager Skyler Hartle and physicist Brian Habersberger met on video game Team Fortress 2 and ended up collaborating to make Nothing, Forever.
At time of writing the characters are discussing the merits of LED lights and a store that only sells used toasters.
Go on, aren't you the least bit curious?