---
title: "A New AI Draws Cats, and They’re Utterly Grotesque"
description: "ThisCatDoesNotExist.com takes the AI-generated internet trend to its logical conclusion: creepy pictures of cats that will fuel your nightmares. "
date: "2019-02-21"
modified: "2019-02-21"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/cat-doesnt-exist-ai"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
tags:
  - "ai"
  - "artificial intelligence"
  - "gan"
  - "NVIDIA"
---

# A New AI Draws Cats, and They’re Utterly Grotesque

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/this-cat-doesnt-exist.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ThisCatDoesNotExist\</em\>*

## This Cat Does Not Exist

*Ceci n'est pas un chat.*

Last week, we reported on a [mysterious new website](<https://futurism.com/mysterious-site-ai-realistic-horrifying-faces>), [ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com](<https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/>), that shows you a new human face, generated by an AI, every time you hit the refresh button.

It's a growing trend: more copycat websites like [ThisAirbnbDoesNotExist.com](<https://thisairbnbdoesnotexist.com/>) and [ThisWaifuDoesNotExist.net](<http://www.thiswaifudoesnotexist.net/>) have also cropped up in its wake.

And now, [ThisCatDoesNotExist.com](<https://thiscatdoesnotexist.com/>) takes the trend to its logical conclusion: creepy, AI-generated pictures of cats that will fuel your nightmares.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cat1.jpg>)

## This Cat Should Never Exist

Behind all of these websites lies NVIDIA's generative adversarial network (GAN) called [StyleGAN](<https://github.com/NVlabs/stylegan?fbclid=IwAR1qJiZfqcWipbv-LP0sWtw7IdnXzCN0lr9j8M9d2v1y40N41PZuPOeiOl0>) — a machine-learning algorithm that can learn how to sketch human faces, cats, or almost anything else by examining hundreds of thousands of existing images.

But ThisCatDoesNotExist.com is not the most compelling example of the tech. It's more like the result of what would happen when hundreds of thousands of cat images, including text memes and their human owners' faces, are mashed together in a a cyber-car-crash. The results are harrowing.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cat2.jpg>)

No, seriously. What happened to these innocent cats?

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cat3.jpg>)

It's a shame the algorithm wasn't able to pick out the human faces.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cat5.jpg>)

Or meme text.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/cat4.jpg>)

## Uncatty Valley

GANs have been used for much more ambitious projects in the past. Researchers at NVIDIA harnessed the power of the technology to create uncanny faces that are almost [completely indistinguishable](<https://futurism.com/incredibly-realistic-faces-generated-neural-network>) from the real thing.

But that doesn't mean bored people on the internet shouldn't be able to take advantage of the open-source technology for a bit of fun — that is, as long as real-world cats stay out of harm's way.

**READ MORE:** ['This Person Does Not Exist' Has Spawned a Host of A.I.-Powered Copycats](<https://www.inverse.com/article/53442-this-person-does-not-exist-has-spawned-a-host-of-a-i-powered-copycats>) \[*Inverse*\]

***More on AI faces: [Mysterious Site Uses AI to Create Realistic Yet Horrifying Faces](<https://futurism.com/mysterious-site-ai-realistic-horrifying-faces>)***

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)