Grimes Ushers in a New Era of Internet Infestation
Claire Boucher, known as Grimes, has always embodied the essence of the internet—both its allure and unease. Have you ever mistaken a shadow or a moment’s light for a cockroach lurking in your kitchen? Your mind senses something invasive and threatening, yet closer inspection shows everything is fine. This lingering sense of unease perfectly describes the mood captured in “Artificial Angels.”
The music video for Grimes’ “Artificial Angels” evokes the disorienting and overwhelming experience of living immersed in internet culture in 2025. It offers a series of surreal, shifting visuals familiar to anyone who has seen generative AI demos. The Canadian electropop artist dances beside ever-changing virtual AI companions, while anachronistic elements like cavemen smoking cigarettes branded with the OpenAI logo add to the unsettling atmosphere.
“This is how it feels to be hunted by something smarter than you,”
This phrase, voiced by a deliberately primitive AI-generated voice, serves as both the opening and closing of the track, underscoring the theme of being overwhelmed by superior intelligence. Erratic cartoon overlays mimic the exhausting flood of images created by those fixated on information overload, heightening the video’s brain-pummeling effect.
Ultimately, the song and video present an intense but fleeting sensation—striking in the moment yet easily forgotten, much like spotting a dead animal during a morning walk.
Author’s summary: Grimes’ “Artificial Angels” depicts the unnerving flood of internet culture through AI-driven visuals and sounds, capturing a momentary but deep sense of digital anxiety and overwhelm.