The comedy wildlife awards are here again. It’s one of my favourite annual events and yet I noticed something slightly different this year. When the announcement came my first thought (and it arrived very quickly) was that these images were probably AI-generated. But the source was trustworthy, I reminded myself, and therefore the cute pictures were once again available for some heartfelt giggles.
What a sad turn of affairs. I never wanted to be the cynical person of the group, always pointing out that things might not be what they seem, or reminding all the sweetly-accepting people around me that you can’t trust anyone these days. When did I become like this? I feel sad that one of my happiest activities (looking at cute animals on the internet) is now clouded with uncertainty and mistrust. AI is all over the place lately and I don’t like it. I have to use it at work and I don’t like it. As an author and creative I really REALLY don’t like it (writing a book is long and hard for us humans).
But is the bubble going to burst? Is it ‘super’ rather than ‘artificial’? Is it going to grow so big while learning from its own slop that it ends up eating itself? One can only hope.
At any rate, here are the comedy wildlife award winners. From a giraffe with mad hair to a ballet-dancing hawk, they’re real and gorgeous and funny. It might be slightly harder these days to find the beauty in real life but it’s still there. Let’s hold onto that.
