In recent years, the internet has been bombarded with wild AI edits. In fact, AI is now a popular viral trend. For example, one user turned horror characters into Disney cartoons, while another gender-swapped celebrities. Many creators are using AI to confound their audience by making impossible things. While AI can be mind-blowing, some reactions to it are simply unpleasant. Recent clips have shown Harrison Ford, Keanu Reeves, and others appearing alongside their younger selves, bringing home how quickly time flies.
This latest AI video is going viral on X (formerly Twitter) and was posted by user @TheFigen. So while it may seem somewhat surreal to watch A-list stars hanging out with their younger pals, some of them were child actors while others starred in some of the best movies of the 80s, like Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone. Honestly, watching this video makes me feel so nostalgic. It’s hard to believe how much some of these stars have changed over the years. Check out the edit below to see for yourself how much time has passed.
Awesome! And time flies… pic.twitter.com/n74XANOUn3July 16, 2024
Honestly, it’s shocking, but I think it’s so amazing that we have technology that gives us this sense of nostalgia. I think it’s great for celebrities, especially movie actors and actresses, because we’ve been watching them age for decades. But it’s a gradual thing, and it’s so strange to see them looking younger and older side by side. I wonder if someone like Keanu Reeves would pass on the lessons he’s learned about the movie industry to his younger self.
Some digital recreations look more realistic than others. Sylvester Stallone, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Johnny Depp certainly do. Watching the video, you can see that many of these celebrities, including Keanu Reeves and Brad Pitt, have aged like a fine wine. And seeing pop legend Michael Jackson embrace three different ages (child, teen, and adult) was especially striking, considering it’s been more than a decade since he died.
The Harry Potter actors especially struck a chord with the nostalgia factor. Think of the song “Where’d all the time go…”. The celebrities in this AI video all rose to fame at a young age. The public has watched many of them grow up before their eyes, but none more so than the Potter stars. Daniel Radcliffe debuted in the Wizarding World when he was 11 and Emma Watson was 10. They spent most of their childhood in the franchise, and watching them embrace their younger selves may have soothed my Potter fan heart. I wish I could let them do that in real life.
(Image courtesy of Warner Bros.)
One of the few similar series I can think of is Stranger Things, where the young cast members also started filming just before adolescence, and now the final season premieres almost a decade later. Given how much time has passed since filming, there was actually discussion about whether Stranger Things would use AI to change the kids’ apparent ages in the new season, but ultimately the answer was no. I would love to see an AI edit of ourselves from the first season, though.
However, not everyone had the same reaction to this edit as I did. There were mixed reactions on social media, as many people are uneasy about the power of artificial intelligence. Here are some reaction comments from X, which will give you an idea of how some people feel:
In the end, it’s heartwarming for me, and it makes me wonder what today’s young celebrities will look like in 20 or 40 years, but maybe AI could create that.
