Prime Video Quietly Removes Controversial AI Art

Originally posted on Men's Journal | By Griff Griffin | Last updated Jun 6, 2024 4:00 PM ET

A Prime Video user about to watch 12 Angry Men noticed the promo shot was peculiar.

It didn’t look like a shot from the classic 1957 legal drama at all. In fact, it appeared to be generated using AI. Faces in the background were mutated with smeared features, and none of the film’s actual actors were present.

“Just watching that classic movie on Prime Video, 19 Terrifying Men,” wrote Twitter user @ultrabrilliant alongside a series of screenshots from the Prime Video landing page.

Prime Video

The Twitter post inspired a follow-up on Reddit, where user Boardgamehoarder clarified what they think happened.

“You see, Amazon has this service - Prime Video Direct - that lets anyone upload films to Amazon Prime Video - and they get paid when people watch those films. So, internet bottom feeders have been infesting the Prime servers with rips of old movies, sometimes plastering their own copyrights in the titles after doing an Al-colorization.”

According to Boardgamehoarder, since these VHS rips are free, the algorithm puts them above legitimate HD restorations that charge to watch.

As a result, says Boardgamehoarder, “Amazon gets more 'movies' and engagement for Prime Video, and the bottomfeeders get some easy money.”

It’s far from the first AI uproar. Civil War got in controversy over AI-generated adverts.

Check out the tweet about the 12 Angry Men AI image below.