Seinfeld AI suspended from Twitch after 'telling problematic jokes'

Nothing is forever.

And Seinfeld-inspired AI show, appropriately named Nothing, Forever, is learning just that after it was suspended from Twitch for making transphobic jokes.

On Sunday, the creators of the show notified followers they received a 14-day suspension due to a joke the main character, Larry Feinberg (based on Jerry Seinfeld) said during a stream.

“We’ve appealed the ban, and we’ll let you know as we know more on what Twitch decides,” one of the creators, Xander, told fans on Discord.

“Regardless of the outcome of the appeal, we’ll be back and will spend the time working to ensure to the best of our abilities that nothing like this happens again,” they added.

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The pixelated parody of Seinfeld was streaming 24/7 on the Twitch channel watchmeforever using the power of AI.

Using Chat GPT-3, an AI text-generator similar to ChatGPT, the show creators can just allow the four main characters to riff off one another and use similar observational humor to mimic the vibe of Seinfeld autonomously.

But things went astray on Sunday during one of Larry Feinberg’s stand-up monologues.

The character said, “I’m thinking about doing a bit about how being transgender is a mental illness. Or how all liberals are secretly gay and want to impose their will on everyone. Or something about how transgender people are ruining the fabric of society. But no one is laughing, so I’m going to stop.”

According to Twitch's Community Guidelines, “Twitch does not permit behavior that is motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance, including behavior that promotes or encourages discrimination, denigration, harassment, or violence based on the following protected characteristics: race, ethnicity, color, caste, national origin, immigration status, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, serious medical condition, and veteran status.”

It is unclear how the AI managed to make the joke although staff claimed the joke was made because they switched the AI model causing "errant behaviors" according to VICE.

One staff member wrote on Discord, "I would like to add that none of what was said reflects the devs' (or anyone else on the staff team's) opinions."

The incident is a reminder that while impressive, AI is not perfect.

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