Artificial intelligence programs are getting better and better. The focus these days seems to be on creating visuals from text. The TikTok account darkside.ai shares lots of uncanny clips of their work using the AI program Midjourney, including three videos of what characters from The Simpsons would look like in real life. So if the “Treehouse of Horror” episodes aren’t enough to creep you out, maybe these uncanny versions of your favorite characters will.
The first part of the three-post series has over six million views. It includes Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa plus a few other Springfield residents. All of the characters have traits that stand out—some literally, like Lisa and Krusty’s hair. They both manage to look a bit like Sonic the Hedgehog in weird ways.
The TikTok account is run by Milan Jaram Creations. Other posts from darkside.ai include what artificial intelligence thinks SpongeBob SquarePants and South Park characters would look like in real life. Plus switch ups including the Friends cast as gangsters and US Presidents as Muppets. Part two of The Simpsons below includes characters like Maggie, Moe, and Lenny. Still no Carl, though.
Part three includes Moe’s Tavern regulars Barney and Carl, and also Santa’s Little Helper, easily the cutest of the bunch! The rest are slightly off. AI never quite seems to get the eyes right. The Simpsons is so stylized that it’s always a bit unnerving whenever it’s brought into to the real world. Like this sky-high Marge Simpson wig or when someone made the Cheetos root beer noodles.
Other uses of the Midjourney AI program we’ve seen include AI-drawn art for movie posters. It’s clear that these sort of programs mostly understand the assignment, but there’s still that level of disconnect from human reality… which is probably just as well.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
