Can AI ever be funny? Some comedians embrace AI tools but they’re still running the show

A baby with a deep, radio-broadcaster voice welcomes viewers to a podcast where he interviews “the weird-looking person” who lives at his house – his family dog. This scene from comedian Jon Lajoie’s viral AI-generated videos has captured millions of views across social media platforms, offering a modern nod to the 1989 film “Look Who’s Talking.”

Despite using artificial intelligence to animate the characters, Lajoie is quick to point out a crucial detail: AI didn’t write the jokes. “It can’t write comedy,” he explains. “It can’t do any of that.”

Lajoie’s experience highlights the complex relationship emerging between comedians and AI technologies. While these tools can help execute creative visions, they still fall short when it comes to generating truly effective humor.

This sentiment is echoed by another content creator who goes by King Willonius. After gaining attention for his AI-generated song “BBL Drizzy” mocking Drake during the rapper’s feud with Kendrick Lamar, Willonius has expanded into video parodies targeting brands like Popeye’s and Cracker Barrel.

“It’s very similar to somebody who’s writing for The Onion or SNL,” Willonius explains about his process. “I try to find out what’s my comedic angle on this particular topic, and then I’ll generate a video from that.”

His approach involves writing initial notes, refining them with a chatbot, and then using that language as prompts for AI tools that generate imagery, video, music and voices. The key, he insists, is constant iteration – but he wouldn’t simply ask AI to create a joke from scratch.

Michelle Robinson, a professor of American studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who studies comedy, offers a blunt assessment of AI-generated humor: “A lot of the stuff that I’ve seen AI produce is corny as hell.”

While AI can mimic the basic structure of jokes, Robinson notes they often miss elements that make people genuinely laugh. “They may be moderately funny, but I think they’re really missing an important element of what makes us laugh,” she says, suggesting that AI struggles with calibrating provocative content to current cultural contexts.

This limitation presents an opportunity for human comedians, according to Caleb Warren, a professor studying consumer psychology at the University of Arizona. The creative ideas driving the humor still come from human comedians, while AI tools help with execution and illustration.

For Willonius, AI experimentation began during Hollywood’s 2023 writer and actor strikes when his traditional path to breaking into the industry was temporarily blocked. “I leaned all the way into AI because I didn’t know what else to do with my free time,” he recalls. His pivot to AI tools allowed him to build an audience outside traditional entertainment channels.

The rise of generative AI has sparked division within the comedy community. Sarah Silverman joined authors in suing leading chatbot companies, alleging copyright infringement of her memoir. Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams, condemned users who created deepfakes of her father using OpenAI’s video generator Sora, describing them as “disgusting, overprocessed hot dogs out of the lives of human beings.”

Similarly, George Carlin’s estate settled a lawsuit against podcasters who allegedly cloned his voice to create a fake comedy special. Meanwhile, shows like “South Park” have turned the tables by satirizing AI tools themselves in episodes like “Sora Not Sorry.”

When Lajoie tried using ChatGPT to help craft a movie script idea, the results were disappointing – “super boring” ideas about “grandma’s dentures and a talking raccoon.” Instead, he found AI useful for animating creative concepts he otherwise couldn’t have pursued economically.

Both Lajoie and Willonius were invited to showcase their work at a Manhattan AI gallery space operated by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which invests in AI creativity startups. While Willonius participated, Lajoie eventually declined, expressing concerns about what he calls AI’s “Napster phase,” referencing the copyright controversies that ultimately shuttered the early music-sharing website.

Marc Andreessen, the investment firm’s co-founder, remains optimistic about AI’s potential in filmmaking and comedy, comparing industry resistance to earlier opposition to computer graphics before they became standard tools.

Despite his AI experimentation, Lajoie remains protective of certain aspects of his craft, particularly comedic timing and editing. “The thing with comedy is it’s so related to performance, delivery and point of view,” he explains. “Do AIs have a point of view? They can grab a few points of view from different people.”

He adds with a touch of humor: “And when it does have a point of view, I think that’s when we all should be afraid for all of the reasons that the Terminator has taught us.”