Darren Aronofsky & TIME's AI-Generated Series Fails to Inspire the People
"I didn't know the American Revolution took place in the Uncanny Valley."
From McDonalds' and Coca-Cola's Christmas commercials to Catly, ARK: Aquatica, and "slop" becoming Merriam-Webster's 2025 Word of the Year – one wouldn't be blamed for assuming that, by now, everyone has gotten the memo: AI-generated visuals do not resonate with mainstream audiences, and almost inevitably result in a product being labeled "AI slop," relentlessly mocked online, and often deleted soon after.
Said memo, however, seemingly failed to reach TIME magazine and Requiem for a Dream director Darren Aronofsky, who chose to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States by unveiling a new short-form series highlighting key moments from 1776, with the caveat being that the series in question is almost entirely generated by AI.
Dubbed "On This Day… 1776," the series is described by TIME as employing "a combination of traditional filmmaking tools and emerging AI capabilities to tell short narrative stories about the Revolutionary War," with the algorithm chosen to churn out this affront being Google DeepMind.
As for who is behind it, the credits name TIME Studios and Aronofsky's AI studio Primordial Soup, with Aronofsky himself listed as executive producer, Lucas Sussman leading the writing team, and Jordan Dykstra credited with the score. Conspicuously absent from the credits, however, are the individuals responsible for the AI-generated visuals and post-production – the very areas where the use of artificial intelligence is most jarring.
You can appreciate the scope of the fiasco and gauge the people's general reaction by watching the full series over here. Don't forget to subscribe to our Newsletter and join our 80 Level Talent platform, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Instagram, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
