| Italic Title: | no |
| Creator: | JAZZA |
| Inspired By: | SpongeBob SquarePants Nothing, Forever |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Network: | Twitch, YouTube, Kick |
ai_sponge was a Twitch, Kick, and YouTube channel that used artificial intelligence (AI) to generate livestream content featuring characters from the animated SpongeBob SquarePants franchise.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The livestream, which launched on 5 March 2023,[7] [8] used 3D models of SpongeBob characters within Unity and Uberduck AI-generated voices based on the show's voice actors. Viewers could prompt the character's conversation topics through the channel's Discord server, which often led to inappropriate results. On 26 July 2023, ai_sponge was officially discontinued as a result of multiple copyright strikes and the discontinuation of public Uberduck voices.[9]
The channel was created in the wake of the success of Nothing, Forever, a Twitch channel that streams an AI-generated sitcom based on Seinfeld which never ends. The ai_sponge channel quickly gained popularity, garnering 48,000 followers within its 2-day run time before being banned permanently by Twitch. The channel then relocated to several YouTube channels throughout March to July 2023. Clips from the livestreams have since gone viral on YouTube and Twitter.
On 26 July 2023, it was announced on the ai_sponge Discord server that the official livestreams would come to an end. UberDuck, which provided the voices that were used by ai_sponge, had ended public voice support,[10] essentially making it impossible to continue the project. Additionally, JAZZA had begun to lose interest in the stream due to it beginning to decline in popularity following the continuous moving of the streams due to copyright claims.
Many fan lead projects have shown up attempting to recreate AI Sponge such as AI Sponge Rebooted, which shut down due to bad ownership. AI Sponge Rehydrated then showed up and has been running ever since. Though it is unknown if the same problem will happen due to the constant moving of streams. [11]
The ai_sponge channel has been praised for its comedic value and criticized for its explicit content. The viewer-prompted topics often involved the SpongeBob characters saying wildly inappropriate and out of character conversations, such as SpongeBob revealing to Patrick a diagnosis of testicular cancer, or the characters discussing their existence within the Matrix.
The channel has also inspired numerous other AI-generated livestreams, including ai_Peter, which livestreams AI content based on Family Guy.[12] ai_Sponge has also led to a trend on YouTube that consists of using AI-generated voices, primarily of SpongeBob characters, to sing popular songs.[13] [14]
The rise and popularity of artificially generated livestreams has raised several legal questions, including whether Nothing, Forever, ai_sponge, ai_Peter, and The Simulation qualify as copyright infringement.[15]