The modern painting, according to an exhibition currently on at the National Gallery in London, was invented in the Italian city of Siena. Diehards insist this is wrong: it was actually invented in the nearby Italian city of Florence. Either way, Italy claims the prize.

But in 700 years' time, in a gallery somewhere in the Solar SystemThe Sun and the objects whose movement it controls., people may be bickering over another art form that will be indelibly associated with that same country: Italian brainrot.

The principle is simple: AIA computer programme that has been designed to think. -generate a new creature, ideally some kind of animal blended with body parts, clothes, fruit or weapons. Then use an AI Italian voiceover to say something nonsensical or narrate the story of the creature in question.

The trend began with a relatively simple image of a shark with bird feet called Tralalero tralala.¹ As dramatic music kicks in, the voiceover narrates obscenities in Italian.

Other popular characters include a monkey made of trees, a frog whose body is a car tyre, and Bombardiro Crocodilo, a crocodile head on a bomber aeroplane.

The videos transcend borders and the vast majority of listeners will not understand Italian. As such, they probably have not picked up that most of the videos contain edgy, offensive content.

Tralalero tralala begins with a rant against "God and AllahA term used for the only God in Islam. ". The voice over Bombardiro Crocodilo tells viewers that he is going to "bomb children in GazaThe smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt. and PalestineAn area located in the Southern Levant region of Western Asia. " and loves bombs.

Italian brainrot is a subset of the broader genre of AI slop, which is often posted in Facebook groups to attract engagement from less tech-savvy older users. It might show Jesus with octopus tentacles, or a kitten saving an old lady from a fire.²

What should we make of all this brainrot? For some, it is a sign of a civilisation in decline.

Instead of real art, created with the care, attention, and devotion to higher meaning that only a human being can achieve, people spend all their time looking at nonsense whose express purpose is to rot their brains.

All the while, serious things are happening in the world, developments that threaten our very existence: authoritarianismA form of government in which individual freedoms are severely limited by government power. Examples include Nazi Germany, Khmer Rogue Cambodia and contemporary China., war, and climate breakdown. Viewed from the outside, we are like billions of NeroEmperor from 54 AD to 68 AD.s, all fiddling while not just Rome, but the whole planet, burns.

In fact, the AI systems used to create brainrot are fuelling those flames, consuming vast amounts of energy and water.³

But others say this is art with a purpose. Italian brainrot satirises current affairs and makes points about language, translation and the use of images to shock. AI slop evokes a world where for many people, fiction and reality are blending inexorably into one.

In this sense it resembles the surrealismA 20th Century avant-garde art movement allowing the unconscious mind to express itself and depict dreamlike or illogical ideas. of the early 20th Century, which used absurd imagery to bring out something essential about the human mind.⁴

Surrealism, like brainrot, was castigated by critics who saw in it the collapse of all artistic values. But today it is one of the most enduringly popular forms of art. Perhaps Italian brainrot will have a similarly long life.

Should we be worried?

Yes: AI slop is the ultimate expression of decadenceMoral decline, shown by excessive luxury and spending. and decline. It is a sign of a society that is incapable of taking itself seriously even as the world caves in around it. And it is taking us all with it.

No: It may look stupid, but then people have said the same about other strains of art. These creators are using modern tools to make biting observations about our collapsing world.

Or... No-one would say Bombardiro Crocodilo is great art, but rather than blaming it for decline, we should see it more as a symptom of a society that is in crisis but feels powerless to do anything about it.

Solar System - The Sun and the objects whose movement it controls.

AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think. 

Allah - A term used for the only God in Islam.

Gaza - The smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt.

Palestine - An area located in the Southern Levant region of Western Asia.

Authoritarianism - A form of government in which individual freedoms are severely limited by government power. Examples include Nazi Germany, Khmer Rogue Cambodia and contemporary China.

Nero - Emperor from 54 AD to 68 AD.

Surrealism - A 20th Century avant-garde art movement allowing the unconscious mind to express itself and depict dreamlike or illogical ideas.

Decadence - Moral decline, shown by excessive luxury and spending.