AI has been the biggest boom industry in tech in the last few years, but there are moments when it feels like it's gone too far.
Sure, there are genuine security concerns, not to mention the fear of it spreading misinformation spreading, but sometimes you just need to see an AI meme to really shake you to your core.
That's what many people experienced when they saw four AI-generated images shared by X (formerly Twitter) user Marc Burrows last year. Burrows instructed an AI program to create images of the main characters from The Simpsons - making them look like real people.
Advert
The results are both impressive and creepy in equal measure, with Marge, Homer, Bart, Lisa and Maggie all shown and looking downright human. It's pretty bizarre to see characters we know so well as cartoons - but translated into someone you might meet on the street.
Their exaggerated features from the show definitely become a bit less extreme, with Marge's huge tower of blue hair becoming a sort of perm instead, and Bart's row of jagged spikes turning into a more acceptable style.
Homer, meanwhile, has his heavyset build translated into one that looks even less flattering when it's not a cartoon, while his iconic five o'clock shadow is way less fun when it's just a smattering of stubble on a realistic face.
Advert
Unsurprisingly, the mock-ups made people feel a variety of emotions when they stumbled upon them, with the overwhelming thought being that this felt unnecessary and weird.
One core question asked by a commenter echoed loudly: "Why would anyone be interested in what a realistic Simpsons character looks like?"
Not everyone was completely put off by the photos, though, with another reply reading: "Why does Maggie looks like a baby Pennywise? The others are good, but Maggie doesn't fit in."
Advert
They're right, too, in that Maggie has been inexplicably given both red hair and a sort of clownish silhouette that does really underline the creepy vibes of the whole situation.
What's really surprising is there seems to be a whole bunch of people who think that this version of Homer is surprisingly attractive, with one commenter saying: "Not gonna lie, Homer could get it."
Well, that just confirms there's no accounting for taste, even if the majority of us found the realistic nature of the portraits a little too weird to stomach.