Digital Folktales
A collection of AI tales from internet folklore, generated with VQGAN+CLIP and GPT-3
2021-2022
Image edited with DALLE 2
The internet is a place of cultural importance, where stories and ideas are created by its communities.
Digital Folktales presents fifty-seven tales from the web, generated by two algorithmic companions and one human. Each story is uniquely representing the internet of the early 20’s, from dank stories to more political ones.
The princess and the algorithm
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I found a minion in my kitchen
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The Disney disaster
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The mysterious lake of 4chan
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The Bible 2
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The coming of Shrek
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The end of the world postponed
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The bitcoin demon
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The three little coronaviruses
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When Spongebob found out about rule 34
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Colors & Shapes for Children to Learn with Little Baby Fun Play Clock Toy Shapes 3D Kids Educational
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Karl Marx's Magic Kingdom
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When weebs replaced Japan
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The candy crush saga
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Elon and Elsa
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My imaginary unicorn boyfriend
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Jeff Bezos and the giant
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The cat who downloaded all of Wikipedia
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The last emoji
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The story of the first internet troll
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The princess and the algorithm 〰️ I found a minion in my kitchen 〰️ The Disney disaster 〰️ The mysterious lake of 4chan 〰️ The Bible 2 〰️ The coming of Shrek 〰️ The end of the world postponed 〰️ The bitcoin demon 〰️ The three little coronaviruses 〰️ When Spongebob found out about rule 34 〰️ Colors & Shapes for Children to Learn with Little Baby Fun Play Clock Toy Shapes 3D Kids Educational 〰️ Karl Marx's Magic Kingdom 〰️ When weebs replaced Japan 〰️ The candy crush saga 〰️ Elon and Elsa 〰️ My imaginary unicorn boyfriend 〰️ Jeff Bezos and the giant 〰️ The cat who downloaded all of Wikipedia 〰️ The last emoji 〰️ The story of the first internet troll 〰️
As a digital fable collection from the 21st century, it was created with the help of algorithms.
GPT-3 wrote the text, prompted by my choice of title. The illustrations are from VQGAN+CLIP, directed with my help to best complement the stories.
The machine that invented the best joke ever
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The tweet that destroyed Twitter
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A tale from the NPC community
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The diet that failed: the 404 diet
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The return of Steve Jobs
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When the hikikomori ruled the world
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The cat from the metaverse
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The e-demon app
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The lost meaning of hyperreality
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Don't be afraid, it's just a hologram!
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The prediction that changed everything
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Hey Alexa, play Despacito 2
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The soul trapped in a torrent
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Google buys the moon
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Why did the chicken post her Facebook profile again?
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The mushroom search engine
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A tale from the bots
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Subliminal messages in my ringtone
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A tale from the influencers
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The family who lived on the blockchain
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The lustful device
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The machine that invented the best joke ever 〰️ The tweet that destroyed Twitter 〰️ A tale from the NPC community 〰️ The diet that failed: the 404 diet 〰️ The return of Steve Jobs 〰️ When the hikikomori ruled the world 〰️ The cat from the metaverse 〰️ The e-demon app 〰️ The lost meaning of hyperreality 〰️ Don't be afraid, it's just a hologram! 〰️ The prediction that changed everything 〰️ Hey Alexa, play Despacito 2 〰️ The soul trapped in a torrent 〰️ Google buys the moon 〰️ Why did the chicken post her Facebook profile again? 〰️ The mushroom search engine 〰️ A tale from the bots 〰️ Subliminal messages in my ringtone 〰️ A tale from the influencers 〰️ The family who lived on the blockchain 〰️ The lustful device 〰️
There was room for error in these creations because of my imperfect understanding of the algorithms, as well as the algorithm’s misunderstanding of mine.
This is also how humans create with one another: through negotiation and collaboration – error and correction.
Little red riding China
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A tale form the billionaire class
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How we broke free from societal conditioning by deconstructing language through the art of storytelling while...
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Never judge a furry based on its cover
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My very frist crypto profit
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The Pewdiepie tale
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When not even Wakanda was safe from cultural appropriation
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The anime girl in a jar
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The origin story of cancel culture
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How a hipster learned to love capitalism
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The goose who laid woke eggs
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Xi Jinping and Putin's adventures
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A tale from the cabal
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The anti-vaxxer and the magic lamp
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A tale from the alt-right community
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A tale from the [censored]
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Little red riding China 〰️ A tale form the billionaire class 〰️ How we broke free from societal conditioning by deconstructing language through the art of storytelling while... 〰️ Never judge a furry based on its cover 〰️ My very frist crypto profit 〰️ The Pewdiepie tale 〰️ When not even Wakanda was safe from cultural appropriation 〰️ The anime girl in a jar 〰️ The origin story of cancel culture 〰️ How a hipster learned to love capitalism 〰️ The goose who laid woke eggs 〰️ Xi Jinping and Putin's adventures 〰️ A tale from the cabal 〰️ The anti-vaxxer and the magic lamp 〰️ A tale from the alt-right community 〰️ A tale from the [censored] 〰️
Photo by Ana Rodriguez
Awards and selections
2nd place in the Digital Media section @ Hochschultage 2022, Bremen, DE
Exhibited @ Electronic Literature Organization Conference, Coimbra, PT
Exhibited @ AI Internet Yami-Ichi, Miami, US
Exhibited @ Transform 2023 Conference, Trier, DE
Exhibited online under CIFRA’s Media Art Comic project
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