The Family Guy TV series has always had a reputation for walking a tightrope between being satirical and downright offensive.
Now, an AI-generated version of the show has been banned from one of its main platforms, the streaming site Twitch, after it seemingly made a bomb threat in one of its sequences.
The parody was being hosted on the channel ai_peter, when one of the characters started talking about how best to plant a bomb in an indoor arena venue in Washington DC.
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A Twitter user who was tuned into the show when it happened said the account was disabled within minutes. The show was also later removed from YouTube, and the show is no longer streaming on Kick.
Now, users trying to visit the channel on Twitch see the message: “This channel is temporarily unavailable due to a violation of Twitch’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service.”
The parody also featured a sequence in which the AI-generated protagonist Peter Griffin announced the death of Brian, the family's dog, who was a hugely popular character in the original show.
AI parody streams court controversy
The ai_peter account is the latest in a string of live streamers who have used the technology to mimic scenes from a popular TV show and beam it to users on platforms like Twitch, YouTube and Kick.
Another earlier parody is AI Seinfeld, which started generating mocked-up scenes from the hit 1990s sitcom. However, that too was banned after it made an anti-LGBT+ joke.
Despite the repeated controversies, AI-generated Twitch streamers have attracted thousands of viewers to their regular streams in recent months, with viewers enjoying the novelty of seeing how powerful the technology can be.
The shows typically generate parody scenes from the original shows, while also taking suggestions and interacting with viewers.
The AI Family Guy uses OpenAI DaVinci, a writing assistant and content creation platform. It uses audio generated using FakeYou.com, with the stream running 24/7.
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