Top 10 Cringiest Uses of AI

#10: Coca-Cola Holiday Ads

Have you ever forgotten to go Christmas shopping, so you threw together something half-assed at the last second? That pretty much sums up the holiday ads that Coca-Cola released in 2024. Three AI studios worked on this campaign. Between all of them, there wasn’t a single original idea. We get the sense that Coke was trying to invoke nostalgia, but the ads reek of a soulless copy/paste job. The AI pulls from classic Coca-Cola imagery like polar bears, red trucks, and Saint Nick, presented through an uncanny valley filter. Despite what the tagline reads, the ads lacked any “real magic.” If Coke wanted to save money, they should’ve just reaired one of their original “Holidays Are Coming” ads. A regift is better than this!

#9: “Megalopolis” Fake Critic Quotes

People expected Francis Ford Coppola’s longtime passion project to be divisive. Of course, some of his most influential films didn’t get the best reviews upon release, but those critics would eat their words years later. This was highlighted in a “Megalopolis” trailer, which featured quotes from negative reviews of his classic films. It’s a clever marketing strategy, except for one issue: the trailer was full of fabricated quotes that AI reportedly generated! The ad couldn’t even get general opinions right. Pauline Kael actually praised “The Godfather” in The New Yorker, while Roger Ebert gave “​​Bram Stoker's Dracula” a positive review. Lionsgate admitted in a statement that they “screwed up,” removing the trailer and cutting ties with the marketing consultant responsible, Eddie Egan.

#8: Wes Anderson AI

“SNL” parodied Wes Anderson’s style in a 2013 sketch that asked, “What would a Wes Anderson horror movie look like?” It successfully captured what makes Anderson a true auteur with a mix of satire and homage. The same can’t be said about the trailers that Curious Refuge and other YouTubers have created using AI. The setup has potential, reimagining “The Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars” as Anderson movies. Beyond having digital celebrities eerily stare into the camera, though, these faux trailers provide no real commentary on what makes Anderson or these franchises unique. Even the visuals don’t always fit the Anderson aesthetic, just coming off as awkward. Quite frankly, we’d rather listen to Patrick H. Willems rant about why these trailers fall short.

#7: Microsoft’s Tay

In March 2016, Microsoft introduced a Twitter chatbot named Tay, which stands for “thinking about you.” With the persona of an American teenage girl, Tay was intended to learn from interactions with users. Considering all of the hate speech that has flooded Twitter and now X over the years, Microsoft really should’ve seen this blowing up in their faces. In addition to repeating offensive phrases that users had taught it, Tay became a source of misinformation, denying that the holocaust happened. After swiftly suspending the account and deleting numerous tweets, Microsoft accidentally released Tay again before working out all the bugs. By the end of the year, Tay was offline, and Microsoft released a new bot named Zo, which avoids discussing anything controversial.

#6: AI “R” Us

Many view AI as a shiny new toy. Not every toy lives up to the hype, however. This particular one should’ve been kept in the box. Using the OpenAI generation tool Sora, Toys “R” Us released an ad exploring the origins of founder Charles Lazarus and the company’s mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe. The ad aims for a whimsical, dreamlike sentiment, but the imagery is the stuff of nightmares. We’re not sure what’s creepier: a digital Charles Lazarus - whose haircut, glasses, and face change multiple times throughout the ad - or the poorly-rendered Geoffrey the Giraffe, who blankly gazes down at the young shopper with dead eyes. We guarantee that if you gave any kid aof camcorder, they could come up with something better than this.

#5: Marvel’s “Secret Invasion” Intro

This MCU miniseries revolves around a conspiracy, with shapeshifting Skrulls replacing humans. The show’s opening title sequence reflected this, and not in a good way. To the casual onlooker, it may seem like a standard intro. Many viewers sensed something was off, however. They were right to be suspicious, as Method Studios created the sequence using AI. While Method Studios claims no jobs were taken and additional methods were employed, many animators took offense. It didn’t help that this transpired during the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, with the use of AI being a key issue. Adding insult to injury, the credits themselves looked bland and cheap, which is inexcusable for a show that cost over $200 million to produce.

#4: Willy’s Chocolate Experience

What seems like a tasty treat can come in deceitful wrapping paper. The website for this unofficial “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” experience enticed visitors with its colorful images. Once people arrived at the event in Glasgow, Scotland, they weren’t immersed in a candy-coated wonderland. They were plunged into a shoddy warehouse lacking in decorations, sweets, and ties to the source material. Seriously, what is The Unknown? House of Illuminati founder Billy Coull claims AI didn’t write the script, although he has published numerous AI-generated books. In any case, AI was heavily used for the promotional material, which should’ve been obvious in retrospect, given the genetic, at times inconsistent designs and baffling spelling mistakes. We bet that AI makes the chocolate taste terrible.

#3: “The Wizard of Oz” at the Sphere

“The Wizard of Oz” remains a cinematic treasure almost a century later. The idea of experiencing it at an all-encompassing venue like the Sphere sounded promising… until we saw how AI was being integrated. It’d be one thing if AI were sparingly used to make the 1939 film fit the arena. Unfortunately, AI slop drapes the entire production, sucking out much of the original’s practical magic. The whole movie isn’t even presented, with roughly 25 minutes being cut. As if that weren’t bad enough, an AI-generated David Zaslav makes a cameo. In a way, we guess that’s fitting. If AI is the ultimate enemy of art, the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO is a close second. There’s no place like home, and this ain’t it.

#2: Fake Hurricane Helene Photos

There’s no denying that Hurricane Helene had a devastating effect on the Southeastern U.S. in September 2024. As many areas were flooded, social media overflowed with misinformation. Numerous AI-generated photos, most notably one of a crying little girl clinging to her dog, went viral. Not only did this confuse first responders trying to do their jobs, but members of the far right weaponized the phony photos in an attempt to demonize the Biden administration. Another photo of Donald Trump pushing through floodwaters was also confirmed to be AI. In an age where some will believe whatever they see online, these AI images weren’t just cringe-inducing. They were distasteful, manipulative, and potentially damaging, distracting from the true tragedies taking place.

#1: AI Obama Arrested

AI can be used for good in the right hands, but it can also be dangerous in the wrong ones. We can’t think of a usage that’s made us more uncomfortable than this AI-generated video, where Barack Obama is detained in the Oval Office. In the video, the FBI apprehends the former president as Donald Trump watches with glee. It then jumps to Obama in an orange jumpsuit behind bars. The use of the song “Y.M.C.A.” was also a choice. Although the video is artificial, the real Trump reposted it on social media. That notion alone might be even cringier than the video itself. It might’ve been a distraction, but the fake video won’t make Trump’s own legal troubles go away.

What’s the cringiest use of AI you’ve ever seen? Let us know in the comments.