The prevailing argument surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) is that, should it achieve sentience, it could become so sophisticated that humanity loses control. The machines take over, civilisation collapses, and we’re all doomed.

Apparently, that day has arrived.

Generative AI absorbs vast quantities of information, much of it scraped from the internet, processes it through neural networks and produces results with all the finesse of a badly managed McDonald’s kitchen.

Allegedly, they’re all badly managed. In my opinion.

In just three years, generative AI has evolved from a technological laughing stock into a global phenomenon, attracting attention that increasingly eclipses critical scrutiny.

YouTube, naturally, provides the perfect playground. Here, someone nostalgic for the 1980s can generate AI videos of Knight Rider, recreating a carefree youth with synthetic nostalgia.

And therein lies the philosophical absurdity: a technology supposedly threatening humanity’s future is busy manufacturing artificial versions of its past.

Is AI dangerous? Does it require strict legislation? Perhaps. But if you’re monetising AI-generated nostalgia on YouTube, the apocalypse can apparently wait until after the next advertising break.