Remember When Things Were Better in the ’90s? A.I. Does Too.
Dubious videos about the glory of bygone eras are creating nostalgia for those too young to fact check them.
“A.I. is a tremendous tool to depict a reality that never was,” Richard Hoeg, an attorney in his mid-40s who runs the Virtual Legality channel on YouTube, wrote in an email. Mr. Hoeg said that although he had never before “glamorized” the 1980s, he nevertheless felt the “A.I. unreality” of content depicting an idealized version of that decade working on him. He wondered about the broader implications of such emotionally effective messaging.
Josh Crowe, a 29-year-old from England who runs Purest Nostalgia while living in Bali, said he isn’t fazed by criticism that he and others are polluting the internet with ahistoric content. “I’m just trying to focus on bringing positive vibes,” he said.
Mr. Crowe creates his content by using a mix of “real reference images, restored and recreated by A.I.” and “purely accurate” prompt engineering. He then uses Photoshop for “cleaning up deformations, like extra fingers.”
He makes no claim of accuracy...
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/style/ai-nostalgia-tiktok-90s-80s.html?unlocked_article_code=1.lE8.JlR9.M-o8h9v1f86h∣=em-share
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