The use of artificial intelligence is at an all time high, and not just for the Silicon Valley big wigs, either. Anyone with access to a computer or smart device can access generative AI to create almost any content (inhumanly) imaginable. There’s plenty of impressive AI generated content out there, but there’s arguably more that veers into “uncanny valley” territory. What exactly is uncanny valley, and what in the world would it have to do with generative content? The term “uncanny valley” was coined in 1970 by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori. It describes the phenomenon of robots becoming increasingly eerie and unsettling as they become more human-like in appearance and behavior. The uncanny valley is a concept that describes the uncomfortable feeling of unease or revulsion that can occur when a robot or animated character looks almost human but not quite, falling into a “valley” of unsettling similarity.
Thankfully for any meme aficionados, the gold mine that is generative AI will just keep giving and giving. On multiple social media platforms, many of the best (or worst?) AI generated videos have gone quite viral. It can be hard to get your hands on all that’s out there, so let’s take a look at the best compilation of utterly unsettling, creepy AI generated videos. Shall we?
Reddit
Let’s Dance
Posted to Reddit on r/DeepDream, this sub states that it is “dedicated to art produced via machine learning algorithms”. User u/numberchef uploaded this terrifying gem titled “Let’s Dance”. The eerie figures are dancing along to ambient sounds rather than upbeat music. The main figure appears to be happily dancing while their face contorts into a series of disturbing illusions. One particular scene looks as if they’re infected, à la “The Last of Us”. We’ll probably skip this particular warehouse rave.
Tom’s Hardware
Pepperoni Hug Spot
With a tagline, “Like Family, but with More Cheese”, this fictional pizza chain may just be trying to fight their way to that coveted number one best pizza spot that Dominos, Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s have been fighting over for years. Pepperoni Hug Spot boasts the best ingredients like cheese, pepperoni, vegetable, and… secret things? Certainly plenty of restaurants have crafted their own secret recipes, but this particular pizza chain’s secrets may be a bit too much to handle. Particularly if the only way to eat their pizza is by moving our mouths in the most cursed way possible as illustrated by the charming main family featured in this ad.
YouTube
The Emoji Movie But Its The Shining [AI Art]
Have you ever wondered what The Emoji Movie would look like if Stanley Kubrick directed it? YouTuber AI Lost Media did, and decided to prompt image generative AI, Midjourney, to make some truly haunted images mashing The Emoji Movie and The Shining together. “The Emoji Movie But Its The Shining [AI Art]” is a compilation of images featuring the most iconic scenes from The Shining interpreted as emojis. The Shining is a terrifying movie, but it’s possible Midjourney created something even scarier.
YouTube
“Confess” by Hel
Artists are finding new ways to express themselves using today’s technologies. Music videos can be expensive and labor intensive. Artist Hel found a creative, if not completely unsettling, way to blend their audio creations with generative images. The video starts with a rather brainwashing-like verbal intro. “Push forward, pray that you learn valor, and be given luck. See your fears and your pain, abandoning all comforts. You will condition your mind to new ways of seeing. You will experience great highs and profound lows. You will confess everything”. Hel has found an excellent way of blending these two medias together.
Bloody Disgusting
Candle Cove Intro 1972
“Candle Cove” is a fictional children’s TV show featured in the first season of the horror anthology series “Channel Zero.” In the show, a group of adults recalls their disturbing memories of watching the show as children, which becomes increasingly surreal and sinister as they investigate its origins. The show itself is already very disturbing, but this AI generated reimagining of the title intro to Candle Cove adds an extra layer of creepy. It’s a great example of a fandom making content using their favorite shows as a starting point.
TikTok
Alien Invasion
This video is a lot less uncanny valley, and a whole lot more Independence Day. Alien Invasion shows a fairly realistic look at giant, diamond shape crafts descending upon our planet and the chaos that follows. Cameos from Joe Biden and Vladmir Putin add a level of realism to this “worst case scenario” situation. As various clips of the craft are shown over crowded streets, mountains, and historical buildings, a terrifying voice over from a news channel plays in the background. It just goes to show that we don’t need big budget Hollywood directors to show us our scariest sci-fi fears. We have artificial intelligence to do it for them now.
YouTube
The Dark Mask 1986
Majora’s Mask is a popular video game released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. The game is known for its dark and eerie tone, time-traveling mechanics, and complex story that deals with themes of grief, identity, and death. In “The Dark Mask 1986”, this fake “lost media” shows a commercial for the video game that never was. With scarecrow monsters, black masked bad guys, and the threat of the end of existence itself, we’re wishing this video game was real.
The Dream
The Dream? Try an absolute nightmare! “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” is a science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick, set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans and androids coexist, exploring themes of what it means to be human, empathy, and the nature of consciousness. Dick asked if they dreamed of electric sheep. Very wholesome. In 2023, we now know androids dream of whatever this thing is.
YouTube
Creepypasta 2.0
Creepy pastas are horror stories, legends, or images that are spread through the internet. They often involve supernatural or inexplicable events and are designed to scare or unsettle the reader. Creepy pastas usually have a contemporary, urban legend quality and can range from short, simple tales to complex, multi-part stories with a dedicated fan base. It seems only natural that this disturbing story form born from the internet would eventually meld together with artificial intelligence. YouTuber Mike Jesus Langer posted a compilation of ten stories written by Open Source’s ChatGPT with accompanying visuals by AI Midjourney.
YouTube
Pizza Nuggets Ad 1993
Truly, there isn’t enough AI generated content about pizza. That’s why we’re especially thankful that “Pizza Nuggets Ad 1993” exists. This fake ad is a little upsetting to watch for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s clear that despite the mind boggling level of intelligence that machine learning has at its disposal, it has absolutely no idea how human mouths work. Secondly, the more existential freak out is that artificial intelligence is able to perfectly encapsulate the feeling of nostalgia, which one would assume is a wholly human experience. “Pizza Nuggets Ad 1993” is a terrifying time capsule back to a world that may have been if the AI overlords had been born just a couple of decades earlier.
TikTok
Last Selfie Ever Taken
There are several AI-based image-generating models, including StyleGAN, DALL-E, and GPT-3’s Image Generation API. These models use deep learning algorithms to create new images from scratch or to modify existing images in various ways, such as changing the style, adding or removing objects, or even creating completely new objects that never existed before. User Robot Overlords on viral video sharing platform TikTok, prompted an image-generating model to “show the last selfie ever taken”. The video shows multiple images created using this prompt, and TikTok user8138338570479 sums up our thoughts exactly: “Well I will just continue, not sleeping”.
YouTube
Lawyer Commercial Written by AI Bot
Keaton Patti forced an AI bot to watch over 1000 hours of lawyer commercials. They then prompted the bot to write it’s own lawyer commercial script. This lawyer’s past clients include three tornadoes, and he promises that “you don’t pay any money unless you pay us money”. While this video won’t rank high on any spots for creepiest visuals, the services this AI generated lawyer provide are a bit too dystopian for our taste. Will this lawyer win your heart? Yes. Will this lawyer win your case? Absolutely not.
YouTube
A Fictional “Lost Episode” of The Simpsons
“Dead Bart” is a fictional “lost episode” of The Simpsons that Matt Groening, the Simpsons creator, decided not to air due to its content. The storyline is extremely dark. Halfway, Bart is sucked out of a plane window and dies. The description goes on to say that all of act two is comprised entirely of the cast crying, and “Act three opened with a title card saying one year had passed. Homer, Marge, and Lisa were skeletally thin, and still sitting at the table. There was no sign of Maggie or the pets.”
YouTube
THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY: A.I Predicts 400 Years In 3 Minutes
The description is “How will Humanity look in 400 Years? This exciting time-lapse of our future produced entirely by Artificially Intelligent Concept Futurists tells us exactly how.” The video is broken up into sections based on the eras the AI predict. The Reckoning, The Dystopian Age, and The Retreat are all prophesied time periods, and that’s just until 2100. Someone needs to tell the AI to lay off the dystopian movie genre and watch a few rom-coms.
YouTube
AI Jonathan Frakes Probes the Depths of your Soul for 53 Seconds
Jonathan Frakes hosted and co-produced a TV series called “Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction” that aired from 1997 to 2002. The show featured dramatized reenactments of strange and unusual stories, and viewers were challenged to determine which ones were true and which ones were made up. In this video, a fictionalized AI generated television show hosted by Jonathan Frakes, called “Truth or Vision” gives us hilarious audio clips. Highlights include: “what about the strange behavior of the street lamps when John walked by?” and “who was the strange woman who appeared in the mirror when Tom said her name three times?”.
Wikipedia
Loab, the Internet Demon
Loab is an AI-generated character developed by the OpenAI team as an example of what GPT-3 is capable of creating. Loab’s backstory, personality traits, and appearance were all generated by the language model, which was trained on a massive corpus of human-generated text. Despite being completely fictional, Loab has gained a following on social media and has sparked discussions about the creative potential of AI. Swedish-based musician and artist Supercomposite has worked extensively with Loab, and claims this is the first instance of an internet based cryptid.
Futurism
Harry Potter by Balenciaga
A deep fake is a type of synthetic media that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to manipulate or generate visual and audio content that appears to be real but is actually fabricated. Deep fakes are considered scary because they have the potential to deceive people and spread misinformation, posing a significant threat to privacy, security, and trust in the authenticity of media. “Harry Potter by Balenciaga” is a hilarious deepfake with horrifying implications. So while we’re all laughing at model Hagrid saying “You are Balenciaga, Harry”, let’s remember just how convincing deep fakes may be in the very near future.
YouTube
Power Sight 64
What happens when you mix the aesthetics of the early 90s and an episode of Black Mirror? Power Sight 64. The virtual reality we have today doesn’t hold a candle to the capabilities of the VR of Power Sight 64. Complete with sentient and assistive AI and the ability to feel pain during video game fights, the marketing for this headset is top notch. The ad states that “you may never want to leave”, but we’re thinking it may not give you the choice to leave.
Reddit
Aliens in the Home
Reddit user u/BowlFullOfDeli_Bird used image generating AI to create a surreal set of five images of aliens trespassing in a home. People are terrified of alien abductions because the idea of being taken against their will by unknown beings and subjected to invasive medical procedures is a deeply unsettling and traumatic experience. Thankfully, artificial intelligence can lend its artistic talents in deepening this collective fear, serving us hyper-realistic depictions of our little green friends coming over during the night completely uninvited.
YouTube’
Synthetic Summer
There are brilliant authors writing some of the most provocative stories about rogue AI, but we’re guessing no one has written about the dangers of AI getting their hands on beer production and Smash Mouth’s “All Star”. A truly hypnotic take on all American summer fun, “Synthetic Summer” offers us yet another refreshing take on how humans ingest things through the eyes of artificial intelligence. If you’re interested in new methods of drinking beer, unsettling eyes, and hearing repeating lines from “All Star”, this video is for you.
YouTube
The Carnival Act That Inspired Garfield
“The Carnival Act That Inspired Garfield” is a fictional account of how Jim Davis got the idea for his beloved feline character, Garfield. According to the AI, Rutherford the Telepathic cat was a carnival act in the early 20th century who toured the United States with his owner, Ron Barnuckle. Unfortunately, “The carnival act would fall out of favor when a commission was appointed by the Taft administration to investigate the supposed telepathic powers and intelligence of the Cat. It was discovered that Barnuckle had conned audiences through use of robotics and children sitting on each other’s shoulders in a cat suit.”
Reddit
Human Infected With Spider/Alien Virus
Terrifying, pointy toothed mouth? Check. Too many legs? Check. Hairy, spider like body? Check. Subreddit r/aiArt is a treasure trove of horrifying and beautiful AI generated content. User u/therealpicard posted a set of twenty photos under the title “Horror Images: Human infected with spider-like alien virus transforming them into a human/alien hybrid”. We think that description is completely accurate, and we’re not in a rush to come across any human/spider alien hybrids anytime soon. Or really ever.
Reddit
The Cult That Inspired Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing is a popular video game franchise developed by Nintendo that has gained a reputation for being wholesome and relaxing. In the game, players take on the role of a resident in a village populated by anthropomorphic animals, where they can engage in various activities such as fishing, bug-catching, decorating their homes, and socializing with the villagers. All in all, this is a beloved and sweet game appropriate for all ages. However, in “The Cult That Inspired Animal Crossing”, artificial intelligence creates a backstory of how Animal Crossing sprung from a terrifying doomsday cult in Japan in the 1960s.
YouTube
I Asked an AI to Show Me Hell (And It Terrified Me)
YouTuber Qxir prompted image generating artificial intelligence to create several different hell scapes. Photographs of hell, demons in hell, computer hell, and claymation hell are just a few examples of his creative prompting. What generated is genuinely terrifying. Qxir was quick to point out an observation this particular AI seemed to be attached to. Qxir said, “If there’s one thing AI seems to think about hell, it’s that there are a lot of people there”.
Metal Injection
Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” Music Video
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1984. Known for their unique fusion of heavy metal and alternative rock, the band was one of the pioneers of the grunge movement and achieved significant commercial success in the 1990s. They probably didn’t realize that over two decades later, their music would be blended with creepy AI imagery. YouTuber Hanrui Huang used generative AI Midjourney to create this compilation video. They prompted images, going line by line to the lyrics of the song, to accompany the music. The result is a haunting music video you likely won’t forget anytime soon.
YouTube
Burger Blast Ad 1995
YouTube channel AI Lost Media has created an extensive catalog of AI generated videos on their channel. In the description for their “Burger Blast Ad 1995” video, they’ve written, “Recently declassified television ad from the Department of Lost Media for “Burger Blast”, filed along with the VHS for “Pizza Nuggets”, the 2 seem to share a link…”. It would appear this YouTuber is building an entire world of disconcerting lore with interconnected videos. Along with a catchy, burger-themed jingle, this fake ad will leave you with a craving for red meat and a fear of mascots.
YouTube
StyleGAN2 – Mapping Music to Facial Expressions in Real Time
This video definitely sits firmly in “uncanny valley” territory. This project by Mario Klingemann is very unique. It integrates music by Kraftamt and generated images of facial expressions. In “StyleGAN2 – mapping music to facial expressions in real time”, we are able to see the generated overlays of multiple human expressions all compiled into one face. It’s scary, hilarious, and almost heartwarming to see so many wide, grinning faces.
Buzzfeed
Stills from a Fake Cronenberg Film, Galaxy of Flesh
David Cronenberg is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter known for his provocative and controversial films that explore the relationship between the human body, technology, and psychology, often blurring the line between reality and hallucination. Los Angeles director, Keith Schofield, posted stills from a completely fake 1985 David Cronenberg body horror film, Galaxy of Flesh. These stills are very Cronenberg, and it seems the AI was faithful to the seasoned directors uncomfortable style.
YouTube
Presidential Spaghetti Party
YouTube creator, Alex Howard, uses AI to create “A fever dream sitcom where Joe Biden and Donald Trump have a great day eating spaghetti together.” In true hard to understand AI fashion, the spaghetti has a mind of its own, Trump clones himself, and by the end, both Biden and Trump turn into spaghetti. This is a fun alternate universe where the only real issues are: do you or do you not support parmesan on spaghetti?
Malay Mail
Mr. Puzzles Wants You to be Less Alive
“Mr. Puzzles Wants You to be Less Alive” is a short AI generated horror story created by Keaton Patti, who forced bots to watch over 400,000 hours of horror movies. The story follows a man who receives a mysterious package from a company called Mr. Puzzles, which contains a jigsaw puzzle with a disturbing message. As the man attempts to solve the puzzle, he begins to experience strange and terrifying hallucinations, which lead him to question his own sanity and the true intentions of Mr. Puzzles. The story is a chilling exploration of the themes of obsession, identity, and the dangers of pursuing knowledge and enlightenment at any cost.