As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I can confidently say that the progress of AI has left me both awestruck and slightly uneasy. The latest remake of the infamous “Pepperoni Hug Spot” ad is a testament to how far artificial intelligence has come in such a short span. It’s like watching an uncanny valley version of my favorite video games coming to life, which is both fascinating and a tad unsettling.
In the potentially haunted month of April 2023, an unsettling AI-crafted advertisement was released globally. This ad, titled “Pepperoni Hug Spot,” is for a fictional pizzeria. The AI characters in the video appear stiff and their expressions are awkward, while the voiceover uses peculiar language and maintains a chilling monotone tone. The overall feel of the clip is eerily reminiscent of the Uncanny Valley. Now, a reboot of “Pepperoni Hug Spot” has surfaced, and it seems to be even more terrifying due to its striking realism.
In the provided clip, Pizza Later’s original “Pepperoni Hug Spot,” produced using Runway Gen-2 AI, is contrasted with a 2024 version also made using Runway Gen-3. The improvement between the two versions is significant. Although there are moments where the newer video exhibits some visual odditiesâdistorted hands, enlarged knives, peculiar pizza shapesâthe human characters in the latest version appear far more authentic and lifelike. The new voiceover is also much improved and sounds quite convincing.
In just over a year, AI tools have significantly advanced from being initially unconvincing and comically clumsy, to nearly indistinguishable from professional advertisements with only minor adjustments needed. It’s unsettling to ponder how realistic “Pepperoni Hug Spot” might become in the next year or two.
AI tools are developing frighteningly fast
The initial “Pepperoni Hug Spot” gained immense popularity, even prompting Pizza Hut Canada to temporarily transform one of its Toronto stores into a Pepperoni Hug Spot. Yet, the 2024 version presents a more solemn narrative, emphasizing how convincing AI-generated videos have become. This serves as a cautionary tale that the rapid advancement of AI technology is not likely to slow down anytime soon.
Nowadays, you can’t help but notice the changes happening in movies and television due to artificial intelligence (AI). The entertainment industry is grappling with these advancements, trying to understand and adapt to their impact. Remarkably, even basic AI tools are capable of generating high-quality and sometimes eerily realistic content, such as depicting “Toy Story” in real life or envisioning Marvel’s Avengers under the direction of Wes Anderson. With AI’s growing potential to create human-like characters like the lifelike woman from TikTok creator @mahiwagangkuneho, it won’t be long before we look back at 2023 and remember the “Pepperoni Hug Spot” as a time when AI was still discernible from humans.
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2024-09-08 20:59