Design Art Papers 2025 | No. 13

a right-leaning subtext (Gallagher et al. 2023; Peeters et al. 2021: n.pag) within these genres. As such, they often satirise and ridicule right-leaning imagery or vernacular, as exemplified by “Because Of Woke” (sakshi 2024) and “Brainwashed Jotchua” (Owen 2023) memes. 2.6. The Process of Meme Virality and Propagation The virality of memes cannot be dictated by themanner they are conceived, but rather by the engagement the public has with their overarching themes, and how widespread they end up becoming. Memes often represent a manner of sharing one’s thoughts without being reprimanded, individuals with perspectives similar to those of the creator being able to find such solace. One of the most popular subjects for memes are notable public figures, with memes portraying celebrities having earned their own subcategory, which focuses on either commending or mocking their actions in the limelight (Nielsen at al. 2022). As the individuals primarily depicted are actors or political figures, these memes can be perceived akin to caricatures, making them appear as nothing more than fictional characters belonging to a play whose intended purpose is that of satire (Anderau et al. 2024). The most significant recurring example is that of the billionaire Elon Musk, who has been sneered at countless times due to his eccentric and erratic behaviour, which has birthed various memes across the years due to Tesla products, such as the Cybertruck (Sophie 2020) and the Tesla cars (Owen 2024), the unusual naming choice for his son, X Æ A-12 (Caldwell 2020), as well as his endeavours as a, now-former, senior advisor for the current US administration and President of the United States of America, Donald Trump. The salute controversy specifically had stirred the masses, as numerous individuals worldwide have criticized Musk for intentionally gesturing similarly to the Sieg Heil salute (Owen 2025). As opposed to the majority scorning Musk’s actions verbally, many online users have chosen to regard his haphazard and inflammatory actions in a humorous manner. 2.7. The Convergence of Meme Culture and Video Games The subject matter depicted within meme formats can fluctuate drastically, encompassing topics from highly consequential matters, for instance, real- world tragedies, to more light-hearted themes, such as unusual photographs of animals, often accompanied by unserious text underneath. This diversity illustrates how akin memes are to other forms of media, such as video games or television series. Both distinguish themselves in themes yet share the similar goal of aiding people in their pursuit of forgetting their stressful mundane lives and finding comfort. Memes are typically created and remixed with the purpose of releasing certain feelings or to de- emphasize a difficult situation. Their format, style and subject can differ depending on culture and ethnicity. An example of great importance to Chinese social media is the Grass mud horse, a fictional creature which is said to live in the Gobi Desert. The endearing rendition of the animal represents a metaphor for the struggles of the average person who navigates social norms and expectations, while doing so with optimism (Mina 2014). Similarly, people worldwide choose to create and engage with humorous content in order to momentarily disconnect from hardships, while also forging unspoken connections with other people, through shared experiences. Videogame-relatedmemes usuallydepict themanner in which fans share their gaming experiences, either by expressing their frustration regarding the game’s difficulty or by reminiscing about fond moments. Individual player bases each develop their unique sense of humour and inside jokes, to a degree where the memes inevitably start becoming akin to photo fads (Shifman, 2014), known for involving multiple individuals, each creating their own interpretation of the original photograph or concept. Similarly, memes derived from television series, such as Breaking Bad or House, M.D, are depicted by viewers, which reminisce about beloved moments of the series in an often-oversimplified manner, which may seem unintelligible to outsiders. They range from hand- drawn to edited images and aim to share the comedic and occasionally grating truths about the experience a game provides its player base, similar to the Me wanting to replay a game and That part meme. A well-acclaimed series known for its unique and atypical storytelling as well as its gameplay and the memes it has produced is Metal Gear, a Japanese stealth video game series created by Hideo Kojima, developed by Konami, first game appearing in 1987. The series addresses far-reaching themes that retain their relevance to this day, such as war, despair, hope and the subject of memes itself, not as humorous pictures but as a crucial part of people’s culture. Despite their mature themes, the games consistently deliver many comedic moments in their own distinct way, such as the main character’s conversations with the supporting cast, as well as many unusual occurrences as the player progresses. The most recognizable meme stemming from the series is the Metal Gear Alert sound (gi97ol 2012), which signals as the player is discovered by an enemy and has been edited in various videos as to denote surprise. Memes remain a straightforward way to maintain or revive a game’s popularity despite its age. Video game remakes often provide new material for the fans of the older iteration to engage in new discussions and interactions, as seen with the Silent Hill 2 Remake and the mods it has received, as well as represent an entry point for new fans into the franchise. It is quite common for newly released games to immediately spark memes, such as the Persona 5 combat menu options (Twenty-One 2017) meme or even before their release, exemplified by the One Copy of Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing Please meme due to the two games appearing on the same day. 3. The Ethical Considerations of AI and Memes Memes’ role in shaping discourse is especially evident in today’s digital age, where memes often move faster than headlines. With the rise of generative AI models, this question becomes more asked: what happens when machines begin creating these cultural icons? Entering this new era of meme production, concerns of authorship, intention, emotional resonance, bias, and harm become central. While memes have historically been shaped by lived experience, shared humour, and community-driven remixing, AI-generated memes introduce ethical complexities that stem from machines’ inability to grasp cultural, historical, or emotional context. AI’s capacity to generate memes is not evidence of understanding but of imitation. Existing research shows that current models fail to fully capture the emotional and contextual subtleties embedded in meme culture. AI systems struggle with tasks such as recognizing facial expressions or interpreting OCR data when irony, sarcasm, or culturally coded references are involved (Priyadarshini & Cotton, 2021). As a result, their outputs often lack the intentionality and emotional resonance of human-authored memes. This inability raises some fundamental ethical questions: if AI cannot comprehend the cultural or moral weight of its creations, should it be allowed to produce content that mimics human communication at scale? 3.1 Misinformation and Memetic Propaganda The intersection of memes and AI presents high risks when it comes to misinformation, cultural decontextualization, and bias. Memes already function as powerful elements for shaping narratives because they compress complex ideas into digestible, humorous formats that spread rapidly across digital networks. Göke (2024) highlights the circular dynamic between meme culture and historical narratives, where memes not only reflect but also rewrite collective memory. When AI enters this cycle, trained onmassive uncurated datasets, it amplifies risks of cultural misappropriation and symbolic misuse. Generative systems replicate imagery and language without understanding their historiesor culturalweight, flatteningnuanceandrisking the reproduction of stereotypes or the degradation of sensitive symbols. Whereas human misuse of symbols may stem from ignorance or malice, AI does so from an absence of ethical cognition, making it a uniquely indiscriminate amplifier. Bias embedded in training data compounds these concerns. Because genAI learns from the prejudices of online environments, it risks producing racist, sexist, or ableist memes. Within the meme format, designed for short term virality, such biases are compressed into easily circulated snippets of discrimination. The accountability chain is also blurred. When offensive memes emerge, it is unknown whether the responsibility is upon the programmer, the prompter, or the platform. Wang et al. (2023) wrote that even when AI can detect sentiment with moderate accuracy, it often misinterprets context, labelling a racist meme as “joyful” if laughter is involved. This demonstrates the ethical gap between computational recognition and moral understanding. These challenges become particularly alarming in the context of propaganda. Memes have long been used as disinformation vectors because humour and relatability allows them to bypass critical discussions (Dennis & Aizenberg, 2023). AI drastically increases their volume, speed, and personalization, becoming accountants to mass-produce persuasive content with minimal resources. A single prompt engineer can generate hundreds of memes designed to polarize, radicalize, or misinform, reducing the need for coordinated teams of propagandists. Recent studies suggest that AI-generated memes are increasingly present in right- wing digital discourse, where they blur the boundary between human and machine production while amplifying ideological narratives (Petruk, A. 2025). This convergence produces an almost perfect propaganda machine: rapid, anonymous, emotionally resonant, and too pervasive for traditional fact-checking infrastructures to contain. Regulation remains contested. International approaches to AI governance vary widely, with some jurisdictions emphasizing strict prohibitions on harmful applications and others prioritizing innovation (Xinbo & Guo, 2025). The EU AI Act, for instance, introduces risk-based frameworks aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in high-impact systems, which includes AI-generated cultural content. Yet, regulatory structures often lag behind technological capabilities, leaving gaps in oversight. Without robust frameworks, the spread of AI-driven memetic propaganda risks undermining democratic discourse (Floridi, 2021). 3.2 Generative AI as Democratizing Force in Meme Creation Enthusiasts often describe genAI as a democratizing force in cultural production. However, this claim is contested. Memes have historically been defined by their accessibility and low production barriers: from text-based jokes to shitposts, their power lies in simplicity. In contrast, AI-generated memes often appear overly polished or uncanny, divided frommeme culture’s informal character. Rather than lowering barriers to entry, genAI shifts meme creation toward a more technologically mediated process, which may alienate users from the community-driven roots of meme culture. Still, AI can support creativity by providing recombination tools that expand human inspiration. As research on digitalized therapy suggests, AI can augment but not replicate human empathy, pointing to the unresolved gap between artificial output and human meaning-making (Salil, et al. 2025). AI memes depend on human prompts and cultural knowledge for resonance; they are not independent acts of creativity, but derivative outputs shaped by human intention. 3.3. Authorship and Agency Artificial Intelligence is used to recycle various works but also the likeness or voices of many people to create more content for those who seek it. Current 257 256 / / / / Caiete de Arte și Design / nr. 13 / 2025 / / / / Publicație a Centrului de Cercetare și Creație în Artele Decorative și Design / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /