Seth MacFarlane thinks he found an ethical use for AI: Bill Clinton impressions

Seth MacFarlane gets what he wants. If Peter Griffin remembers the time, then his animators had better make damn sure that his memory is animated for maximum hilarity. The same, apparently, holds true for his live-action series, Ted, Peacock’s television follow-up to Ted 2, which tells the ongoing adventures of the pot-smoking, foul-mouthed teddy bear. Ted isn’t your granddaddy’s teddy bear, and neither is the show’s Bill Clinton. After 40 years of failed Clinton impressions, MacFarlane finally cracked the code: The only way to do the former President justice is through the magic of AI. 

On a new episode of Ted, MacFarlane stages a masterful spoof of the politician, turning the man who gave us the Crime Bill and exploited a 22-year-old intern into a foul-mouthed, take-no-guff badass who throws cold coffee on Dunkin’ employees who don’t approve of his handling of the economy. It’s obviously hilarious. Seriously, can you imagine Bill Clinton doing something as inappropriate as cursing? But MacFarlane knew that the only way to perform the character properly without “terrifying” the audience or “[trampling] on the art” was through AI. 

Seth MacFarlane says they used AI to make him look like Bill Clinton in ‘Ted’ S2

“It’s an interesting example of how AI can be used as a tool … We tried prosthetics, we tried traditional CGI, everything else just looked terrifying”

(via AP)

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“I’ve been doing my Bill Clinton impression since the early days of Family Guy,” MacFarlane told the Associated Press before throwing his make-up and effects teams under the bus. “It’s an interesting example of how AI can be used as a tool and not necessarily trample on the art that the rest of the industry is doing. We tried prosthetics, we tried traditional CGI, and everything just looked terrifying. So we just said, ‘To hell with it, let’s try AI.’ It worked. It was the only way to look like Bill Clinton.”

The results are astounding. Thanks to this profoundly useful technology, we no longer have to pretend that SNL‘s disrespectful nightmares, like that revolting sketch where Phil Hartman’s Clinton makes a pit stop at McDonald’s, are in any way humorous. As we’ve known for a few years now, AI is the only way to match Clinton’s signature plasticy sheen and mismatched mouth movements. To wit, Ted‘s Dunkin’ scene is just a deeply funny segment that isn’t diminished by the uncanny valley of its dead-eyed Bill Clinton nor an acute lack of jokes. We’re sure it’ll look even better in a few months because this stuff really stands the test of time, unlike anything Darrell Hammond ever did. The guy didn’t look anything like him!