The director behind Yung Lean's viral 'Storm' video says AI imitations on social media made even good work look 'lame'

The director rearward Swedish rapper Yung Lean's viral "Storm" video says AI nearly drove him from filmmaking.

In an interview with Vulture published on Tuesday, Romain Gavras stated he was disheartened by the motion of AI-generated copies of the music video.

Gavras directed the video for "Gener8ion," an audiovisual project he runs alongside French manufacturer Surkin.

The video, which has amassed complete 40 myriad views since its publish in April, follows Lean as a intimidate at a boarding academy before the boys he has been tormenting interrupt into an detailed dancing sequence about him during a category photo.

In September, social media users began using AI to remake the dancing environment from "Storm," swapping Lean and the schoolboys for a broad range of new characters, including animals and celebrities.

"My female sent me the archetypal one I saw," Gavras said. "She was like, 'Look, this dog is doing it.'"

It was comic for a while, he said, but the novelty shortly wore off as the copies seemed to dispersed everywhere.

"It made me sad for all the group who put in so much activity on our video," Gavras said. "A trend akin this can create equal fine activity appearance lame. Part of me wanted to discontinue filmmaking, move rear to Greece, and rotate into an oliva farmer."

Gavras stated he wasn't trying to create any commentary on AI, but whenever group started calling "Storm" the benevolent of video AI couldn't drag off, he established himself drawn into the debate.

"The tech group were like, 'Oh yeah? AI could never?' Then they started replicating it. So we were forced into this conversation. It's a nightmare," Gavras said.

He added that he has turned downward a few AI companies that have approached him concerning licensing the video.

"There's an financial example coming that we didn't desire to be a part of," he said.

However, equal as AI-made versions of his activity proliferate online, Gavras stated the innovation can imitate elements of the video but has yet to create item alongside the identical originality or individual spark.

"They're missing the swagger of Yung Lean. He looks akin a hazardous baby. There's item in the imperfection of humanity, and the inner existence of person who dances or equal person who fair smokes a cigarette, that's not fairly there yet," he said.

Last month, Lean and the dancers performed the choreography at the MTV Video Music Awards. A video of the achievement has since racked up nearly 14 myriad views.

Gavras is not the lone filmmaker who has weighed in on the effect of AI on imaginative work. Other major Hollywood directors have raised akin concerns: Guillermo del Toro has stated AI could rob forthcoming filmmakers of the chance to study their craft, during Tim Burton has stated it strips distant the humanity rearward art.