AI-generated memes are returning to popularity in online memes, this time in the form of "AI Vines" as people integrate the technology to put a modern spin into classic memes.

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The First Wave of AI Memes

AI memes first became viral as talks about HuggingFace's AI-image generator DALL-E Mini became popular on social media in 2022.

As reported by Wired, initial memes around the technology poke fun at the images the AI has generated rather than use AI directly to start another meme.

From fascinating to morbid, the AI image generator was used to generate absurd images to test the limits of the technology.

AI video generator version of DALL-E later produced memes of Will Smith eating spaghetti and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson eating rocks.

The AI's limelight in meme communities, however, soon died amid concerns about AI firms stealing artists' works to train their new models.

While AI-generated memes have surfaced over the past years, they did not garner the same attention it received during the initial craze around the technology. At least, not until now.

The Second Wave: Recreating 2014 - 2016 Vine Memes

The second wave of AI popularity in the meme culture takes root in the absurdity of other AI memes that went viral over the past two years since it hit mainstream virality.

These include the AI Steve Harvey, Gumbo Slice, and the Ash Baby memes that were popularized as reaction images from 2022 to 2023.

The same trend can be seen this year with the rise of "AI Time travelers," so-called time travelers trying to erase iconic moments in popular memes and Vines that first went viral in 2014 and 2016.

This resurgence in AI-generated memes is believed to have started in mid-June after the "9+10=21" meme went viral again as a shadowy figure (AI-generated) tried to stop the boy from giving the incorrect answer.

The regurgitated meme, which first went viral on X (formerly Twitter), has gained over 31.2 million views, 119,000 likes, and over 17,000 reposts in just four days.

Similar posts soon followed like the Distracted Boyfriend, Comically Large Spoon, and the Captain Picard Facepalm memes surfacing again through AI.

Most of the videos that spawned from the trend use the same music, Shiro Sagisu's "Marking Time, Waiting for Death" from the 1995 anime series "Neon Genesis Evangelion."

   @zulacash #ai #vine #aivine #timetravel #boyfriendmeme #lookback #aigenerated #aivideo #tiktok ♬ MARKING TIME, WAITING FOR DEATH - Shiro SAGISU    

Many of the memes that sprouted from the trend came from LumaAI's demonstration of its latest AI video generator, Dream Machine, which allows users to generate minute-long videos from existing images and videos.

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AI Resurgence in Memes: How Will it Affect Internet Culture?

If there is one thing for sure, the rise of generative AI in meme culture indicates the internet's growing acceptance of the technology despite many people's hesitance towards it in the previous years.

While there is no sign that the "AI time travelers" would stay in online memes, it would not be surprising if another trend surfaces soon that also uses AI to gain traction.