A quick visual during a recent “Weekend Update” segment has caused an unexpectedly strong response from Saturday Night Live watchers. Many think the show brought AI into its production.
Questionable Casino Graphic on SNL Draws Scrutiny From Fans
The uproar focuses on a still picture shown as Colin Jost and Michael Che told a political joke about a casino rally. The image showed an older woman at a slot machine using oxygen. Most of the live crowd did not notice at first, but later it became a hot topic online. Viewers started to point out strange things about the woman’s hands, face, and how the whole picture looked.
As the video spread, people on social media pointed out that the picture looked like it was made by AI, not like the purposely bad photo edits that have always been part of the show’s comedy. By the start of the week, talks about this had grown beyond fan groups and reached industry news sites, including Deadline, which said that after checking with an AI-spotting tool, the image was very likely created by a computer.
Many critics saw this as more than just a problem with one image. Viewers said using AI-created visuals instead of human-made ones weakens the joke and the creative work that makes the show special. Some pointed out that the clumsy Photoshop look seen on “Weekend Update” is part of what makes it funny, and that smoother, strange-looking images take away from the humor rather than making it better.
Creative Job Loss Concerns Surface Amid SNL Graphic Debate
A writer who used to work on the show, Billy Domineau, added to the discussion. He remembered how fast the show’s artists could make ridiculous pictures that made jokes even funnier, as reported by Cracked. He suggested that if the show was pushing aside that talent to use computer-generated images, it would be a big loss for what makes the show’s comedy unique.
The outcry also sparked broader concern in creative fields. Job trackers like Challenger Gray & Christmas have recorded thousands of layoffs already tied to AI use, while predictions from the World Economic Forum suggest that AI could take over a big chunk of media and design work within ten years.
Even though “Weekend Update” is a spoof and not real news, some viewers felt uneasy that the show did not mention anything about the image’s source. Others pointed out that this kind of uncertainty might become more common, as people find it harder to tell the difference between images made by humans and those created by computers. For a show that relies on mockery and skill, that blur between real and fake might be tougher to brush off than any joke.