Nothing Forever: the A.I. generated sitcom on Twitch,

The arrival of the internet has put an end to the concept of boredom. For better or worse, there is always something to do, something to read or something to see. But this has never been more true than since the launch of Nothing Forever. This sitcom, broadcast entirely on Twitch, offers endless entertainment, thanks to the magic of AIs.

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For a few months now, the democratisation of Artificial Intelligence on the web has been generating new types of content. Things got serious with DALL-E and its images made with a few keywords, and more recently with ChatGPT and its improbable conversations. Today, by combining different A.I. technologies, the company Mismatch Media managed to create a sitcom with randomly generated situations, acting and jokes. This is how Nothing Forever.

The series (if you can call it that) is a series of short humorous sequences featuring one to four characters. It is largely inspired by Seinfieldthe sitcom that revolutionised the genre and inspired all those that followed, starting with Friends. Its most famous sequence sees its heroes meeting a television producer to sell him " a show about nothing "(a programme about nothing at all). More than 30 years later, the very concept proposed in Seinfield is being realised on Twitch and gives its name to the said programme. Nothing Forever is therefore steeped in the aesthetics of the 90s; graphics worthy of the first 3D, sets and costumes from another age and a rhythm of sequences that is just as retro. The series alternates between sequences in a living room or in the middle of a stand-up comedy, just as its characters are inspired by the sitcom.

But what is really interesting (and funny) about Nothing Forever is mediocrity of the show itself. The greatest comedians of our generation have nothing to fear, A.I. is not yet ready to replace them, at least for the moment. We feel that the algorithm has understood the dynamics of sitcoms; with a setup, a punchline and a reaction; but the writing is totally lacking. So the jokes that aren't really jokes follow one another; the recorded laughs are triggered at the wrong moments and the very awkward silences set in. In addition, there are random movements of the protagonists and numerous collision and animation bugs. We then witness a real theatre of the absurd which will know how to appeal to cringe lovers.

And there are quite a few of them. The channel was launched in June 2022 in a kind of total indifference, with about 5 viewers on average. But for two days now, the stats have been soaring with 10,000 spectators on average. The audience makes Twitch particularly relevant for this type of concept, as the channel becomes a community watch party where everyone bounces on the show's "jokes" in the chat. People laugh at the show rather than with the show, and that's fine.

Nothing Forever is therefore a new UFO in the Twitch landscape, like Twitch Plays Pokémon in his time. It probably won't stay popular for long, unless it improves its humour. Which may well happen, as the creators of the project are true A.I. enthusiasts. Nothing Forever has taken years to develop, but recent developments are giving them new possibilities. More programmes could be on the way.

In the meantime, while the Twitch channel description promises uninterrupted streaming, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A rather optimistic promise, since one can legitimately wonder when the A.I. will generate the joke of too much at some point and disappear from the platform. So let's enjoy it while it lasts.