What’s behind Rivers Cuomo’s recent cryptic tweets? It’s AI

Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo has been on a Twitter roll this week — sort of.

The rocker, who posted sparingly earlier this year, fired off more than 50 tweets Monday morning. Within an hour, he posted about “#FemboyAnthem,” estrogen and the English rock band Arctic Monkeys.

His erratic posting continued Tuesday and Wednesday, with dozens of new posts shared in less than an hour. On Twitter, Cuomo seemingly teased a new album and replied to fans — even if they didn’t address him.

“Haha yep, I feel ya,” he said in nonreply tweet on Wednesday. “I’m stoked for you to hear the new Weezer album. It’s gonna be lit.”

Additionally, this week’s tweets have featured outdated hashtags (#YOLO) and uncharacteristic emojis, which were absent from Cuomo’s previous posts.

So what could be behind the Weezer singer’s dramatic Twitter shift? Try artificial intelligence.

Days before the influx of tweets, Cuomo shared he was experimenting with the AI program known as ChatGPT. According to AI lab OpenAI, ChatGPT is a chatbot that seeks to mimic conversation.

On Dec. 5, the singer tweeted that he used GPT to write a song based on a new Weezer single “to see how they compare.” For fans, the difference was pretty evident.

Weezer’s lyrics for its new song “I Want A Dog” featured rhymes and emotional ups-and-downs. The AI seemed to write a simpler, cheerier tune about a pup.

Cuomo then had the AI tech promote the new song on Twitter.

“I’m so excited to announce the release of Weezer’s pawsome new song, I Want a Dog,” said the AI-generated tweet. “It’s from our upcoming album #SZNZ: Winter out Dec 21. We think it’s ruffin’ amazing.”

Shortly after the tweet published, Cuomo replied with a disclaimer.

“This tweet was composed by GPT-3. I’m not sure what ‘ruffin’ amazing’ means but I kinda like it,” he said.

Since GPT’s first tweet last Thursday, it seems Cuomo has given the AI full agency over his Twitter account. Representatives for Cuomo and Weezer did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for confirmation Thursday.

However, with more replies to phantom fans and promotion for Weezer’s “OK Human” album (which dropped in January 2021) it’s clear that Cuomo’s current Twitter presence has users scratching their heads.

“I’m absolutely losing my mind over rivers Cuomo’s twitter. it’s like a f— lament configuration, i can’t stop thinking about how bizarre it is,” tweeted streamer Iain.

“rivers cuomo might have the most confusing twitter feed of all time,” said another Twitter user.

“can someone please explain rivers cuomo’s twitter to me, they’re all written like it’s live transcription at some kind of bizzare q&a event,” wrote @scaredworried.

See more reactions to Cuomo’s Twitter page below.