The age of absurd AI greetings

No event, from Sankranti to World Pizza Day, escapes the relentless deluge of bizarre creations clogging our feeds. Perhaps, it is time to revive the beauty of a simple, heartfelt message

By P Nagarjuna Rao

Festivals and special days once brought thoughtful greetings — a heartfelt note, a phone call brimming with warmth. Those days are behind us.

Today, we are drowning in AI-generated absurdities. No event, from Sankranti to World Pizza Day, escapes the relentless deluge of bizarre creations clogging our feeds.

Take Sankranti. A festival of kites and cockfights turned into a surreal poultry concert. One AI-crafted image featured a band of roosters: one on guitar, another hammering drums, and a few more in Scottish kilts, high-stepping to imaginary bagpipes.

The message? ‘Happy Sankranti’ — leaving bewildered recipients wondering if they had stumbled into a feathered ballet.

And what say about the obese cat and unsuspecting fowl video? It begins tenderly — a cat strokes a bird, a touching scene of interspecies camaraderie. Seconds later, the cat wields a knife, serves the bird, and devours it with glee.

The political subtext? Beware of politicians and their freebies — they will fatten you with promises before devouring you whole. Subtlety died somewhere between the chopping board and the dining table.

A glut of greetings

There is no escape from these digital theatrics. Birthdays now unfold as action movies — with balloons threatening to pop in slow-motion and cakes exploding into fireworks. Anniversaries? Think AI-generated old couples waltzing in the moonlight while robotic Cupids fire pixelated arrows.

Even World Pizza Day delivers anthropomorphic pizzas lounging on hammocks or battling cheese-drenched foes.

Your phone buzzes endlessly as friends, family and people you barely know unleash these AI oddities. Clearing them is an endless loop. By the time you have deleted one batch, another torrent arrives. Your data plan wheezes in protest while oblivious senders soldier on.

Once upon a time, greeting cards were personal — a handwritten wish that meant something. Now, four disco-dancing pigs screaming ‘Oink Oink, Happy New Year!’ mock that sentimentality.

Perhaps it is time to revive the beauty of a simple, heartfelt message — one that doesn’t involve kilts, cats with knives, or pizza duels. Until then, keep your delete button handy and your data plan well-stocked.