Viral AI Videos Target New Bedford

A TikTok account that appears to be created by artificial intelligence has no problem dumping on New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton and other SouthCoast cities.

In fact, it really does New Bedford dirty.

The account is called “Military_Ai” and has the handle @top_military2. The AI-generated videos all feature Google Earth imagery of various cities, and every video poses a question like “What Is the Most Dangerous Street to Live on in New Jersey?” or “What Town in Pennsylvania Is the Most Depressing to Live In?” before counting down a certain number of them.

No data is provided for any of the claims these videos make.

Just about every video promises “the last one is going to surprise you.” The only thing I’m surprised about is how many unnecessary shots it takes at the Whaling City. The videos also often feature the phrase “before we reveal No. 1, comment your (town/school/whatever the theme of the video is) and remember to follow and like or I will come for you.”

Well, if you come at New Bedford, you best not miss, you stupid robot.

New Bedford Ranked ‘Most Depressing’ by AI

In the video “What Town in Massachusetts Is the Most Depressing to Live In?”, New Bedford ranks No. 1 – but that’s not all.

Claims About New Bedford High Questioned

Another video calls New Bedford High “The High School in Massachusetts With the Most Bullying Concerns.” It claims it “stands out for the consistency and scale of bullying concerns raised over time, repeated parental complaints, safeguard scrutiny, and elevated bullying-related disciplinary actions continue to shape its reputation.”

Meanwhile, it places Brockton High School at No. 4. That’s the same Brockton High where the school committee asked Governor Maura Healey to send in the National Guard to deal with violence in the school (she denied the request) and where students complained before the start of the school year that bullying has not been handled properly by the school administration.

At the same time, New Bedford High School is setting graduation records and new marks for Advanced Placement participation and scores.

New Bedford Isn't the Most Miserable, But It's Close

At least New Bedford wasn’t named No. 1 in the video titled “Which Village in Massachusetts Is the Most Miserable Place to Live.” It only placed No. 6, while Taunton was No. 10 and Fall River was No. 7. The AI videos may think New Bedford is depressing, but at least it doesn’t think it’s as miserable as Revere.

Are These AI Videos Just Rage-Bait?

What do these videos mean in the grand scheme of things? Absolutely nothing. The account has about 52,000 followers, but most of those are probably other AI-generated accounts. It exists solely to create rage-bait, and to get people to share the videos out to their own platforms.

What This Says About AI and Misinformation

For all of those who are concerned about whether or not artificial intelligence is going to take over the world, I’ll just point to what it apparently thinks of New Bedford as proof that AI is not so intelligent after all.

10 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Move to New Bedford

Why would anyone want to move to New Bedford when they'd have to deal with all of these things?

Gallery Credit: Barry Richard

Hilarious Google Reviews of the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge

We've all been there. You think you've made it with a couple of minutes to spare, only to get caught at the red light as the bridge closes. Some of us turn around. Others wait. What most of us don't do, however, is take our anger to the internet — but apparently, several people have, and the results are both hilarious and relatable.

With an average rating of two stars on Google, our love-to-hate-it SouthCoast landmark proves that it's at least slow enough for those stuck waiting to grab their phones and pour out their feelings online. From glowing to glowering, here's what people have to say about the New Bedford-Fairhaven bridge.

Gallery Credit: Kate Robinson