Beginning in December 2022, an AI Seinfeld parody began streaming on Twitch. What followed was thousands of views, a temporary ban, and proof that AI can’t write comedy.
What’s the deal with AI Seinfeld?
“Nothing, Forever” was created by Skyler Hartle and Brain Habersberger. The show is a cocktail of 90’s computer graphics and bad AI scriptwriting. Since Seinfeld claims to be a show about nothing, the creators honor that in this 24-hour, round-the-clock broadcast. In short…
IT’S A SHOW ABOUT NOTHING THAT GOES ON FOREVER. HENCE THE NAME, “NOTHING FOREVER”.
Everything in the program is generated through AI. The sets, characters, and even the canned laughter. Since its comedic debut, the show has gained thousands of followers on Twitch…
With viewers watching for hours on end.
Even with its bizarreness, the one thing that separates this AI Seinfeld from the actual Seinfeld is not that it’s generated on a computer…
It’s that the show is not funny.
Where’s the Punchline?
“Nothing Forever” is perpetually generating new content. But it still takes its main structure from the original broadcast.
This new take on the show features Larry, Fred, Yvonne, and Kakler and their living room adventures (if you can call them that). In true Seinfeldian fashion, the episodes start with Larry’s standup routine.
Despite its obvious influence from the 90’s sitcom, “Nothing, Forever” feels like it was pulled from Uncanny Valley.
The look of the AI Seinfeld is unsettling. The movements of the cast are jarring, with limbs that are too stiff and appendages turning in ways they shouldn’t.
On top of that, the show is brimming with awkward silences and poorly timed laugh tracks. Larry does have some signature jokes in his arsenal. His classic:
“WHAT DO YOU CALL A BEAR WITH NO TEETH? A GUMMY BEAR!”
The show is full of jokes like these…
But not all AI jokes are created equally.
During one of Larry’s seemingly infinite stand-up routines, he tells a story about a woman who asks him for the time. He can’t respond because he has an eternity clock. She asks if it’s broken and he responds that it’s not, it just runs on eternity.
Attempts at humor like this could never be found anywhere else on Earth. Let alone a real sitcom.
There are moments of legitimate comedy, but it rarely comes from the dialogue, if ever. Instead, it stems from moments of absurd awkwardness and dumb luck.
AI SEINFELD IS PLAYING COMEDY ROULETTE
So what do these “jokes” and the parody as a whole mean for AI and comedic writing?
How does AI Seinfeld stand up on its own?
At peak popularity, “Nothing, Forever” received a 14-day ban from Twitch. The cause? During Larry’s opening monologue, he began making transphobic remarks…
Directly violating Twitch’s community guidelines.
Co-creator Hartle expressed apologies and sheer embarrassment. Their team had switched to an older version of the GPT program that they used for the show. A program that they assumed has the same content moderation features…
They found out the hard way that it didn’t.
This show feels like proof that writing and comedy jobs are safe from AI for now. And it’s not just because of the content moderation mishap and the lack of any tangible humor…
As AI keeps finding its way into creative spheres — like helping finish a lost Beatles song. There’s still a need for organic creativity and imagination…
You can’t find that in ones and zeros.
A broken eternity clock might be right twice a day, but comedy remains a completely human gig.
Be Great,
GCTV Staff
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