This AI deepfake of South Park characters is deeply unsettling

In the ever-evolving world of technology, AI has made leaps and bounds over the last decade, and it shows no sign of slowing down.

Yet, in the hands of the creatively bold, AI can churn out some pretty, er, odd stuff.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the past year or so, it’s that people like to use this novel technology to mix the weird with the wonderful. And whether it’s purely for curiosity or shock value alone - it doesn’t fail to trigger a reaction, especially across the internet.

Case in point: a unique South Park deepfake featuring the cartoon’s characters that look unnervingly realistic.

You can catch a glimpse the rather odd yet impressive creations here:

Maybe it's the shock of seeing these usually animated characters looking like they could pop out of the screen at any moment, but these AI-generated South Park characters really do give off some weird vibes.

A YouTuber who goes by the name of demonflyingfox is the mastermind behind the video, demonstrating the wild possibilities AI can offer.

And - like anything remotely weird that appears on the internet - the clip made its way to Reddit, with a user sharing it along with the caption: "Someone used AI to create a South Park deepfake - I love it!"

And they weren't alone; the video received praise from many users for how 'spot on' some of the characters were to their animation counterparts.

YouTube/demonflyingfox

Despite the impressive feat, the clip did unnerve some viewers.

One Reddit user noted: "The blinking is very unsettling for some reason", while another replied: "It's because it's not natural, you can definitely tell it's not a real person".

A lot of people seemed to have an issue with the blinking, as one person noted: "The blinks are uncanny valley." And another described them as "creepy" and asked: "why so much blinking."

But it's not the first time that AI has made people feel uneasy either.

AI has created what Europeans think of Americans from each state - and be warned - it might offend you. Look at the handy work of AI here.

But has AI gone too far? Director of The Terminator, James Cameron believes so.

During an appearance on the SmartLess podcast, Cameron admitted that he's "pretty concerned about the potential for misuse of AI" stating that it might be too late for us to stop it, adding: “I think AI can be great, but also it could literally be the end of the world.

"And do we really want to be fighting something smarter than us that isn't us on our own world? I don't think so."