AI memes outperform human creations in humor, study finds

A new study suggests that AI can create funnier memes than most humans. Researchers found that AI-generated captions on popular meme templates scored higher in creativity, humor, and shareability compared to those created by humans alone or by humans working with AI. The research involved using well-known meme formats, like Boromir and Doge, to see how different caption styles performed. Human participants rated hundreds of memes based on three themes: work, food, and sports. The results showed that memes focused on work often received the highest scores, likely due to many people finding humor in workplace struggles. While AI memes performed better on average, the very best memes still came from individual humans. The study noted that collaboration between humans and AI produced more content but did not necessarily improve the quality. Those who worked with AI felt that they had less ownership of their creations compared to solo creators. Researchers believe AI's success comes from its ability to analyze vast amounts of internet data to find humor trends. However, many still find that uniquely human perspectives create deeper connections in humor. Interestingly, some of the less polished memes generated by AI also attracted attention because people enjoy "bad" memes. The study concludes that while AI can cater to popular tastes effectively, human creativity remains essential for producing truly exceptional content.