Overview
- Viewers singled out two on‑air visuals as likely AI: illustrated cold‑open storybook images and a Weekend Update over‑the‑shoulder photo of a casino patron on oxygen showing artifacts like disconnected tubing and warped streets.
- Social chatter escalated quickly, with LateNighter counting more than 1,200 related posts on X by Sunday as the topic trended across platforms.
- Critics including journalist Josh Billinson and former writer Billy Domineau argued generative shortcuts undercut the show’s intentionally janky, handmade graphics that often enhance the jokes.
- NBC has not confirmed whether generative tools were used for the images, and the network did not respond to requests for comment.
- The controversy lands against a labor backdrop, as SNL’s VFX unit unionized in July under a contract that includes worker‑centric AI protections.