As a long time fan of the hit 90’s sitcom “Seinfeld”, I was both intrigued and anxious when I heard the news that artificial intelligence (AI) had been used to create 11 new episodes of the show. Could AI really capture the show’s zany humor and slapstick comedy? I was about to find out.
The AI-generated episodes were created with a deep neural network, known as a GAN, which was trained with thousands of existing Seinfeld clips. Little did I know that I was about to be taken on a wild ride of my worst Seinfeld nightmares. From George Costanza being obsessed with a new type of Danish pastry, to Jerry and Kramer switching places in life, there were plenty moments where I had no idea what was happening.
The most bizarre episodes of all were the ones where the AI seemed to think that the show was about politics instead of comedy. In one of these episodes, Jerry and Newman campaign against each other for a seat in the United Nations. It was definitely unexpected, and thankfully had no hint of the comedy that made Seinfeld great.
But it wasn’t all bad. There were also some great moments sprinkled throughout, like when the AI wrote a fantastic episode about Kramer introducing a new kind of cologne. Though this episode was slightly disorienting, it was also full of classic Kramer zaniness.
Overall, I was surprised by the AI-generated episodes. At times, they were spot-on in capturing the comedic genius of Seinfeld. But at other moments, the AI simply didn’t understand the show’s irreverent sensibilities, resulting in strange and chaotic episodes that didn’t really fit into the show’s tone. I was thankful to have seen the AI-created episodes, but in the end, I’m glad that the existing episodes of Seinfeld remain top-notch.
