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AI-generated cat videos that tug at the heartstrings have captivated millions, blending the lines between spam and art. Is this a result of the algorithm, or is it what the internet truly desires?
Among the internet’s many famous felines, few have stirred emotions like Chubby. Always depicted as a round, ginger AI-generated cat, Chubby finds himself in a range of deeply melancholic or odd scenarios. His stories have puzzled, angered, and touched countless viewers.
On TikTok and YouTube Shorts, creators share Chubby’s tales through silent, AI-crafted slideshows. For instance, a recent TikTok video by @mpminds features Chubby and his child, Chubby Jr., in tattered clothing. Chubby holds a sign saying “Will Purr Fro Eood” (a humorous glitch in AI text rendering). The video then shows Chubby shoplifting, getting arrested, and leaving Chubby Jr. in distress. It concludes with Chubby behind bars, dreaming of his son. The video has amassed over 50 million views and 68,000 comments in multiple languages.
Chubby isn’t alone. Recently, similar AI-generated content has surged on social media. In March, surreal images of Jesus made from shrimp took Facebook by storm, sparking confusion and garnering millions of views. Some speculated that bots might be driving this engagement. However, with the rise of cat videos like Chubby’s, it’s evident that real people are increasingly drawn to this new genre. This phenomenon raises intriguing questions about the intersection of art and technology and hints at the evolving landscape of the internet.
Most of these videos place cats in somber human scenarios. Chubby Jr. faces bullying at school, while Chubby struggles with a cigarette addiction. The cats are even depicted going off to war. For the past three months, nearly all these videos have featured an AI-generated cover of Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For,” with the lyrics replaced by meows. Before that, the go-to track was an AI cover of Sia’s “Unstoppable,” also meowed.
One typical comment on a TikTok by @relatablecutecats (160,000 followers) about Chubby Jr. failing a test reads, “can’t let gang know I teared up to this.” Another viewer expresses their confusion on a video where Chubby Jr. gets abducted by a pigeon while eating McDonald’s with his dad: “Out of all things happening in this world, this is what I get sad at.”
These AI-generated cat stories are undeniably strange. They’re also immensely popular and somewhat controversial. Regardless of whether Chubby is what people are actively seeking online, this is the content currently dominating the internet. The question remains: why?
Cats and New Media: A Purr-fect Match
Cats, whether grumpy, playing keyboards, or “Nyanning,” have always been central to digital culture. Jessica Maddox, a professor at the University of Alabama and author of The Internet Is for Cats: How Animal Images Shape Our Digital Lives, explains that cat content resonates not only because it’s adorable but also because “images of cats can be malleable… we can make cat images mean whatever we want them to mean.” Maddox points out that even in the Victorian era, people would write letters in their cats’ voices and share photo-plates of their feline friends.
Cats naturally became a staple of meme culture as it emerged online. With advancements in technology, pet enthusiasts have evolved from sharing cat photos to creating them using artificial intelligence. The advent of user-friendly AI tools like Midjourney, ElevenLabs, and DALL-E has transformed the internet’s visual landscape. By democratizing access to powerful creative tools, these AI generators have sparked a surge of innovative online content.
“I started in January 2024,” says Charles, the creator behind the popular @mpminds account, who preferred to keep his full name private for professional reasons. “I saw another account creating AI-generated cat images with a similar vibe but different content. I decided to remix that idea into storytelling and developed the characters of Chubby and Chubby Jr. The concept was somewhat in existence before me, but I refined and personalized it into what it is now.”
According to Jessica Maddox, a professor at the University of Alabama and author of The Internet Is for Cats: How Animal Images Shape Our Digital Lives, “Images of cats are highly adaptable. We can imbue them with whatever meanings we choose.”
Many creators have followed a similar path, using AI tools to reimagine existing cultural themes, much like how internet users riff on movies, music, and politics. Charles, who works in finance in France, notes, “I saw potential in TikTok and noticed that AI-generated content was trending. After experimenting with various ideas, it was the cat videos that really took off, so I focused on that.”
Maddox observes, “A lot of people don’t realize how integrated AI has become in social media, both in terms of features and content. People might share popular posts generated by AI without even knowing it.” However, as AI-generated content proliferates, there’s increasing “pushback,” she adds.
Kitty Controversy
There has been a rise in what’s termed “AI slop,” low-quality content churned out in bulk by AI generators. A notable case is the “Shrimp Jesus” phenomenon from early 2024, where researchers from Stanford and Georgetown highlighted networks of AI-generated spam accounts on Facebook. These accounts frequently posted bizarre AI-generated images, amassing hundreds of millions of likes and views. One such post even ranked among the top ten most-viewed on the platform in the third quarter of 2023.
Creators of this content often monetize their work through platform monetization programs or by directing viewers to external links and services. Additionally, there’s a market for teaching others how to generate AI content. As reported by the Washington Post, creators of AI cat stories offer courses on building a following and earning money from such content.
“AI made it possible to do this on a massive scale, so why not give it a shot?” says Renée DiResta, the former research director at Stanford who led the Shrimp Jesus study. The sheer volume and speed with which AI generators can churn out content give spammers more chances to hit the ever-moving target of virality. DiResta explains that spammers and scammers exploit social media algorithms, which excel at recommending content but struggle with evaluating its accuracy or relevance. In 2023, while AI tools made it easy to produce content in bulk, Facebook adjusted its algorithms to show users more posts from unfamiliar accounts. Combined with a lack of effective labeling for AI-generated content, this created a perfect storm for spreading low-quality material.
“Sad videos drive more engagement because they tap into viewers’ compassion,” notes Charles from @mpminds.
The rise of AI-generated content can be seen as a direct result of social media algorithms. Platforms like Facebook and TikTok filter through billions of data points daily, using automated programs (often AI-driven) to manage and shape the content flow. These algorithms not only oversee content distribution but also influence what goes viral by favoring content that aligns with their own preferences over human interests. “Machines are making content for machines,” says DiResta, reflecting on how AI-generated content often caters more to algorithmic preferences than human ones.
Yet, real people are still crucial to the process. “I believe AI-generated content can be art,” Charles says. While AI tools handle most of the work, creators like Charles still need to provide ideas and themes. He mentions that it still takes him about an hour to produce a single cat story video. Despite the heavy lifting done by AI, Charles’s approach has been hugely successful, both in terms of engagement and the emotional impact on his audience. “The person generating the AI content plays a significant role in the outcome,” he adds.
But is it art?
“My first reaction was mostly confusion—‘What is this? Why is this happening?’” says Daniel Chartier, a painter who first saw the AI cat stories on his TikTok For You page. “I went through a sort of emotional rollercoaster and eventually came to accept it. I’m surprised by how genuinely sad I find them.”
For Chartier, who often explores themes involving animals in his art, the imperfections in the AI-generated cat stories add to their appeal. The characters like Chubby often have inconsistent appearances—changing costumes and fur patterns, and shifting backgrounds. Despite these quirks and occasional AI-generated oddities, he finds the stories compelling because of their emotional impact. “I love that I can connect with these characters amidst the absurdity. It shouldn’t be emotional given the AI’s ability to generate similar content endlessly, but it still resonates,” Chartier says.
Charles agrees. “A good cat video is one with a tragic ending. I started with the aim of amusing myself by putting cats in outrageous situations. I also noticed that sad videos engage viewers more because they evoke empathy.”
The striking contrast between the emotion in AI-generated videos and their artificial nature might be why people are drawn to watching Chubby’s misfortunes. Many comments on these videos mention being led there by a particularly viral TikTok from June, featuring a toddler crying while watching AI-generated cat videos. This video, which received 173 million views and a repost from Billie Eilish, sparked a trend of TikTokers capturing their toddlers’ reactions to the cat stories. “That was a pivotal moment for the AI cat trend,” Charles says. “My account was already gaining traction, but that video really boosted it.”
However, not everyone is a fan. Tommy Guacamole, a creator known for critiquing internet trends, made a video poking fun at the emotional responses to AI cat videos. “It’s amusing how easily these cat posts can manipulate our emotions, but honestly, I think AI content is junk and is genuinely ruining the internet,” he says.
AI cat stories don’t hide their origins; TikTok and YouTube require creators to label AI-generated content, and many of these accounts follow the rules, even branding themselves as AI-focused. But the fact that the content is AI-generated doesn’t seem to dampen its emotional impact.
“I’m not sure where this project will go,” Charles admits. “For now, I’ll keep posting as I am and see how it unfolds.”
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Regards Zul-kifal
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