In a world where TikTok trends quickly capture the spotlight, the latest sensation involves AI-generated hugs. This trend, which involves using artificial intelligence to simulate a warm embrace between two people, has sparked a spirited debate online.
In July 2024, an AI trend featuring celebrities hugging their younger selves emerged and was widely deemed unsettling by many internet users. Even the celebrities involved expressed discomfort, describing the generated content as creepy.
“Even with recent years’ leaps and bounds in sophistication, these sorts of outputs are still so uncanny that they even seem to freak out the people creating them — a certain indictment of the reality of generative AI as it stands today,” wrote Yahoo News UK in a 2024 article.
How it’s done
Free templates from various editing platforms make it incredibly easy to participate in this trend. Simply choose two pictures, input the command and AI takes care of the rest.
These straightforward instructions have enabled thousands to join the trend. However, when overused, the trend can become strange and lose its intended emotional impact. Many users start to find the resulting images increasingly eerie or artificial.
Reactions
On one hand, many users appreciate the way AI can recreate intimate moments, making them accessible even in virtual spaces. For example, TikTok user @justnoehperez tried the trend using images of himself in his graduation suit and his late mother. He captioned the video with
“Even if it’s just here, I can hug you, I love you, mama.” The emotional video received 200,000 hearts.
However, not everyone is thrilled by the AI hug phenomenon. Critics argue that these simulated embraces cross into unsettling territory. The artificial nature of the interaction, combined with occasional glitches or awkward movements, can make the experience feel uncomfortable.
With that, there has emerged a compilation of “AI-hugging trend gone wrong” videos. Some internet users are criticizing the trend, particularly when people edit themselves hugging celebrities and the AI produces uncomfortable glitches, such as awkward hand placements or poorly timed embraces.
“Another way to encourage safe AI usage is to change the narrative and recognize the limits of artificial intelligence,” shared American Computer scientist Latanya Sweeney in a 2023 Harvard Online article.