Singer-songwriter Tyla has just debuted the new music video for her song THAT GIRL, sparking a surprisingly heated online discourse. The MV's retro animation style was picked apart by critics who claimed that it was the work of AI, but fans have stepped in to defend the artist and deny the allegations.
From AI ads to augmented assistants, it's no secret that the technology has been rapidly advancing, quickly integrating into our daily lives whether we like it or not. While Tyla's AI allegations haven't been verified, it points to a larger issue around the divisive nature of AI and the mistrust that it has built among audiences.
The 'That Girl' music video features Tyla starring in an animated world seemingly inspired by the 1992 fantasy film, Cool World. From fighting with tigers to seducing an animated version of herself, the video has a distinctly retro feel thanks to its neon colour palette and playful, animation-inspired typography.
Soon suspicions began to arise about the origins of the artwork, with critics discovering that the company behind the video, Biuro, has used AI in the past. While it's not definitive evidence that Tyla's video is AI-generated, it certainly didn't help to quell the allegations. With style and character design inconsistencies (including the notorious extra finger phenomenon), the alleged AI errors were too much to ignore for some.
company that worked on the tyla’s music video has been confirmed to have use AI in their past works pic.twitter.com/PeGIyTKtdEJuly 29, 2026
"Using AI in your music videos is beyond weird," one X user wrote, while another added, "This is disgraceful no shade." One X user explained, "Tyla clearly wanted to use the dancing character Holli Would who’s from the 1992 film Cool World, directed by Ralph Bakshi. Unfortunately she took the concept to horrible animators who played in her face by using AI all over it. I see what it could’ve been, but poorly executed."
Others theorised it could be a marketing stunt, with one Redditor writing, "I honestly refuse to believe that the budget is that low, I know they could have finessed something. I feel like this may be a marketing strategy to get more eyes on the music video. Since it’s AI, she’s going to get a lot of backlash and she seems to profit way more when people don’t like what she does."
the cartoon ‘tyla’ looking completely different in both shots yeah she played pic.twitter.com/HiSsYkjfEwJuly 29, 2026
For more industry news, check out why Disney's Ozzy Fox is going viral thanks to 'AI slop' accusations or take a look at why game developers are saying "AI slop" has become a harmful insult hurled around with no evidence.
