When it comes to AI art, scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should. Not just because the nascent technology may threaten the livelihoods of regular human artists, but also because it enabled these images – created through the prompts of horror game creator Jon McKellan – of British politicians crossed with Warhammer 40k models. This nightmare fuel was surely best left to McKellan’s twisted imagination.
Jon McKellan is the founder of NoCode, a studio recently in the news as the devs of the newly unveiled Silent Hill: Townfall. While that game’s TV static and sinister mumbled voices certainly seems pretty spooky, it’s surely nothing compared to the soulless gaze and oddly melted face of Warhammer Jacob-Rees (complete with cannon arm).
“I’ve been asking AI to generate Games Workshop / Warhammer miniatures of people I’m not fond of, and the results do not disappoint,” McKellan tweeted, before sharing his gallery, which includes former (and current) UK Conservative Prime Ministers in mini form. There’s Boris Johnson crossed with an orc, David Cameron armed with an axe, and Maggie Thatcher with some sort of metal gizmo sprouting from one elbow.
The left is not safe from Warhammer minification either, as McKellan’s made fantasy miniature versions of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and past PM Tony Blair. And it’s not just Britain – naturally Trump’s got a miniature too, and so does George Bush.
When asked on Twitter why he would put time into creating these horrors, McKellan (worryingly) answered “I don’t know why I’m doing it.” He added, “I guess the world has gifted me a nightmare machine and I’m leaning in.”
If there’s one thing AI art is great at, it’s making unsettling images. One creator is using it to produce Blursed, a more off-putting version of the board game Dixit. And here’s some more AI-generated Warhammer figures, for your enjoyment. Someone also made a (real) Warhammer Queen Elizabeth, as a more respectful tribute to Her Maj.