SNL Has Its Black Mirror Moment
Last night’s episode of *Saturday Night Live* took a humorous yet pointed jab at the pervasive frustrations surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) technology, showcasing its intrusion into even the most mundane aspects of life, such as family memories. The sketch featured Ashley Padilla as a grandmother whose grandson, played by Marcello Hernández, surprises her with a program that animates old photographs using AI. Initially, the grandmother is thrilled to see her father come to life in the animated images. However, the joy quickly turns to chaos as the AI-generated animations spiral into absurdity. For example, her mother is depicted smoking a hot dog like a cigarette, while a bizarre scene unfolds where the grandson attempts to grill a headless dog. This comedic portrayal serves as a microcosm of the growing cultural unease regarding AI technology, which, despite its promises, often fails to deliver in a coherent or meaningful way.
The sketch cleverly avoids heavy-handed criticism, instead allowing the absurdity of the AI’s failures to speak for itself. As the grandmother’s nostalgia is transformed into a series of increasingly bizarre and disturbing images—culminating in a nuclear bomb obliterating her cherished memories—the audience is left to ponder the efficacy and implications of such technology. This approach contrasts sharply with the episode’s handling of other topical issues, such as the Epstein files, where the humor felt forced and repetitive. By keeping the AI sketch simple and focused, *SNL* effectively highlighted the disconnect between the hype surrounding AI and its actual performance, leaving viewers to question whether the technology is truly beneficial or just a source of confusion and frustration.
In a world where AI is rapidly becoming ubiquitous, the sketch resonates with a collective skepticism about its impact on personal lives and societal norms. It subtly critiques the overreliance on technology without directly attacking its creators or the industry, showcasing how even a typical family interaction can turn chaotic when AI is involved. As the audience laughed at the absurdity of the situation, they were also prompted to reflect on the broader implications of integrating AI into everyday life, making the sketch both entertaining and thought-provoking. This balance of humor and commentary exemplifies *SNL*’s strength in addressing contemporary issues, reminding viewers that sometimes, less is more when it comes to delivering a message.
Last night’s
Saturday Night Live
addressed the growing frustration with a technology that’s seemingly found its way into every American industry, even dishwashers. One of the first sketches of the night had Ashley Padilla as an elderly woman whose grandchildren went to visit her in a retirement center. As a surprise, her grandson (Marcello Hernández) had downloaded a program that used artificial intelligence to animate old photography, and had uploaded some of her treasured childhood photos. (This is a real service, and one that already served as the premise for an episode of
Black Mirror.
)
At first, Padilla was overjoyed to see her father (played by the night’s host, Glen Powell, who threw himself into every sketch) smiling and waving, looking young again. But it wasn’t long before things went wrong, as the next photo animation found Padilla’s mother (Veronika Slowikowska) smoking a hot dog like a cigarette while Powell tried to roast Sadie, the family dog (which, incidentally, didn’t have a head), on the grill.
When the grandmother expressed shock, her granddaughter (Sarah Sherman) explained: “There’s probably too much going on in the picture, and the AI got confused.” Things devolved from there, as the next motion photo showed Powell’s character’s best friend (Mikey Day) taking off his pants, revealing a smooth, Ken-doll crotch. The grandmother was so distraught that she didn’t want to see what would happen to the next photo, but her grandson insisted that he’d paid for the app and wanted to get his money’s worth. So she had no choice but to watch as the very first photograph of her as a baby was desecrated: Half of her mother’s body disappeared, her father stretched out her baby self like an accordion, the nude friend returned, and eventually, a nuclear bomb obliterated everything.
[
Read: Pay attention to the first 10 minutes of SNL
]
The sight gags were funny, and suitably weird. But without overdoing it, the sketch captured something fundamental about the mounting cultural resentment surrounding AI. A typical family tried to use AI as it was intended, only for havoc to ensue, upsetting Grandma in the process. The sketch didn’t crack five minutes, or directly attack any Silicon Valley executives, or even mention the technology’s
human
,
societal
, or
environmental
costs. (Sherman even tried to defend the app.) Instead, the sketch simply pointed out that this much-hyped technology doesn’t even work all that well, leaving the viewer to wonder on their own what all the fuss is about.
The subtle, let-the-facts-speak-for-themselves approach was a marked contrast with the episode’s treatment of the
Epstein files
. Jokes about new revelations, and the GOP’s desperate measures to downplay the issue or change the topic, were mentioned in the cold open, throughout “Weekend Update,” and even in three different sketches featuring the unexpected return of Will Forte’s character MacGruber. Some of the jokes landed, but by the end of the evening, the topic felt completely exhausted. While beating an easy joke to death is sometimes irresistible, the AI sketch demonstrated how less can be more.
