The Tragedy of AI Art

A few weeks ago, the YouTube channel Welcome AI put out a groundbreaking video titled “AI Generated Ad: Synthetic Summer,” which featured no real people and promoted a fictional beer brand called Private Island. While I can’t show the video in its entirety here due to copyright reasons—the backing track is “All-Star” by Smash Mouth—I can confidently say it is a work of extraordinary artistic merit. This AI-generated ad is remarkable not just for its creativity but for the profound and thought-provoking use of fire throughout.

The Unpredictable Nature of AI Art

The first shot of the ad features a small, ordinary grill fire. However, this quickly transitions into something much more surreal. The second shot introduces a second, more uncontained fire source, and eight seconds in, the fire becomes weirder—someone’s meal is flaming, and it looks like the house is catching fire in the background.

By the time we reach the sixth fire shot, just 20 seconds into the video, the flames are entirely uncontrolled. In the extraordinary seventh shot, the scene almost appears volcanic, with the surface burning from the inside. The fire continues to grow, and by the eighth shot, it is clear that this conflagration will consume the entire party. The ninth shot shows a wasteland, with no party or people left—just a landscape engulfed in flames.

The tenth and final fire shot reveals a ruined cityscape, leaving no trace of the bizarre beer or the people who were supposed to drink it. The ad appears to have been created from text prompts using innovative AI tools, though how much human input was involved remains unclear. Regardless of the specifics, the result is genuinely captivating.

The Unique Appeal of AI-Generated Art

One of the most compelling aspects of this video is its unpredictability and the dreamlike quality it conveys. Traditional art forces us to ask questions about its meaning and the artist’s intentions. However, with AI-generated art, we are free from these constraints. We can enjoy the surreal, thoughtless beauty of the creation without overanalyzing its purpose or symbolism.

The Melancholy of AI’s Future

Despite my fascination with this particular work, there is a melancholy aspect to the direction AI art is taking. As AI becomes more sophisticated and practical, it will aim for normality, blending into the background and producing works that mimic human creations to the point where we are unaware of the machine's involvement. This drive towards replication risks stripping away what makes AI-generated art interesting in the first place: its unpredictability and unique perspective.

The worry is that AI art may have already peaked in 2023 when janky, fake ads with strange-looking people and inexplicably growing fires still held our attention. As machines take on more of the creative process, we risk losing the very elements that make generative art fascinating and meaningful.

Keywords

AI Generated Ad
Synthetic Summer
Welcome AI
Fire Imagery
Unpredictability
Surreal Art
Sophisticated AI
Artistic Process
Melancholy

FAQ

Q: What is the “Synthetic Summer” video about?

A: "Synthetic Summer" is an AI-generated fake beer ad created by Welcome AI, featuring surreal fire imagery and no real people.

Q: Why is fire a significant element in the video?

A: Fire in the video evolves from a small grill flame to a cityscape in ruins, symbolizing the surreal and unpredictable nature of AI-generated art.

Q: How was the “Synthetic Summer” video created?

A: The video was generated using text prompts and innovative AI tools, though the exact amount of human input is unclear.

Q: Why is AI-generated art interesting?

A: AI-generated art is compelling because of its unpredictability and the lack of a need to question the artist's intentions, allowing for a dreamlike, thoughtless enjoyment.

Q: What is the future concern for AI art?

A: The concern is that as AI becomes more sophisticated and practical, it will aim for normality, losing the unpredictability and unique perspective that make AI-generated art fascinating.