Nice Aunties, Ugly Truths

The TikTok Dance of Art

AI art today is like a TikTok trend that refuses to die.

The same cyberpunk girl, scantily-clad AI influencers, and now, add Ghibli-style portraits and personalities as collectible-style dolls. Everyone from Donald Trump to your family members, and even pets, is getting the transformation treatment.

It’s cute. It’s clickable.
And it’s dead inside.

This isn’t art; it’s a vibe recipe dumped into the AI’s Remix function 10,000 times a day.

Prompt, retry, post, repeat. AI has made imitation frictionless, and we’re now drowning in it.

The Aesthetic Spam

The minute it became effortless to generate “stunning” images, our social media feed gets clogged with aesthetic spam.

Art with no anchor. No opinion. No risk. Just endless sludge of tastefully-lit nothing.

Everyone’s an artist now — so no one is.

Because when production is infinite and costless, value comes from selection, curation, and intent. And most of these AI insta-painters are merely spraying pixels on the feed and praying for likes.

Algorithmic Taste: Who Gets Picked?

So why do some AI creators actually cut through?

It’s not because their work is objectively better. It’s because they’ve crafted a voice, a worldview, and most importantly — a recognizable style.

Take @niceaunties, for example.

Their work hits like a wave of tropical déjà vu. Southeast Asian aunties in surreal domestic dreamscapes, wrapped in pastel plastic and soft climate dread. You don’t just “like” their images; you get drawn, perhaps triggered, and you remember them.

Or look at @syntheticarchitecture, a couple of architects using image generation to reimagine buildings. Their work isn’t just pretty; it showcases their creative vision and paints a world with aesthetic buildings that exist only in imaginations, and now in a visual form.

These aren’t prompt monkeys. They’re editors, curators, and creatives. They don’t just create; they make a message.

Style Is Scarce

In a world where anyone can generate “beautiful,” beauty is worthless.

What matters now is your voice.

Style is what survives when the algorithm forgets you. It’s not just color grading or aesthetic — it’s consistency, rhythm, and restraint.

It’s the hand behind the machine.

When you see a Nice Aunties post, you know it.
When a Synthetic Architecture is shared, it marvels.

But here’s the kicker: style isn’t enough either.
If your work doesn’t say something, it’s still noise — just better-dressed.

Nice Aunties isn’t popular because they found a surreal filter. It’s because every piece tells a story, of rising tides, fading cultures, and thematic world views.
Synthetic Architecture doesn’t just explore AI aesthetics. It paints pictures of possibilities, and ties back to their creative discipline of designing buiildings.

They’re not merely posting; they’re telling stories.

Don’t Shout Nothingness

This isn’t a call to gatekeep. It’s a call to care.

Don’t just generate because you can. Don’t flood the timeline with unfiltered mimicry.
If you’re gonna make something, mean something.

AI art is a tool — powerful, yes, but directionless without your voice.
So point it. Shape it. Say something that matters.

The best artists aren’t the ones who create the most.
They’re the ones who create something only they could’ve said.

And that, auntie, is the real flex.