There has been a recent deluge of generative AI videos featuring uncannily fresh-faced teens waxing nostalgic about how much better the world was during the ’80s and ’90s. As the AI youths smize and show off their period-specific haircuts, the clips cut to dreamlike footage of sun-drenched cul-de-sacs and vintage cars while songs like « Everybody Wants to Rule the World » and tracks inspired by the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack play in the background. It’s all very weird – like bragging that you peaked in high school.
As strange as the videos are, there is a relatively easy to understand logic at work here. On one level, this content appeal …
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