Those who’ve spent a significant amount of time on the internet will undoubtedly recognize the ‘distracted boyfriend‘ meme. Now, AI is taking this internet classic to a new level with users on X (formerly Twitter) sharing their eerie animations of the iconic meme created using various AI animation tools.
@fofrAI, an X user, kicked off the trend by sharing the first AI-generated meme using Stability AI’s Stable Video tool. This tool transforms word prompts and still images into short videos lasting between two and five seconds. In the extended animation, the boyfriend not only looks back at the passing woman but also turns fully away from his partner, seemingly walking after the woman in red. Commenters on X expressed their amazement at the AI-generated clip, with one remarking, ‘Memes are getting an AI upgrade,’ and another excitedly noting, ‘What a time to be alive!‘
The trend didn’t stop there; other X users began creating alternative endings for the meme. @burconsult posted a second video with the comment ‘Never mind…‘ where the woman in red turns back and glares at the staring boyfriend, who quickly looks away. This was followed by yet another version with the comment ‘I don’t know anymore,’ where the girlfriend appears to back away from her unfaithful boyfriend with a look of disgust. @burconsult explained using the Runway generative AI to convert still images into short animated clips.
While many X users were impressed with the innovation, not everyone was on board, with some joking that ‘AI needs to be stopped‘ and others stating, ‘Nobody asked for this.’ Some found the AI’s creations creepy, noting strange distortions in facial features and unusual elements throughout the videos, such as clothing and people appearing and disappearing at random.
This isn’t the first time the ‘distracted boyfriend‘ meme has caused a stir on Twitter. Previously, a user discovered that the original photo was part of a series of stock images depicting the couple in various relationship scenarios. The original photo was taken by photographer Antonio Guillem from Barcelona, who had no idea his stock images had become a meme. The meme’s origin was traced back to a Turkish Prog Rock meme page in January 2017.
