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Measuring the singularity with AI World Clocks [1]

['Grant St. Clair']

Date: 2025-11-25  

Did you know that one of the most common tests of cognitive function is asking the patient to draw a clock? Whether or not they mess it up, and in what way, can be indicative of any number of impairing disorders. I'm not qualified to diagnose humans, much less artificial intelligence models, but seeing digital-era artist Brian Moore expose them to this test is fascinating all the same.

The premise of AI World Clocks is simple, really. Nine preeminent AI models are tasked with generating accurate, real-time clocks. Hilarity ensues. Moore himself describes the exact parameters of the project as such:

Every minute, a new clock is displayed that has been generated by nine different AI models. Each model is allowed 2000 tokens to generate its clock. Here is its prompt: Create HTML/CSS of an analog clock showing ${time}. Include numbers (or numerals) if you wish, and have a CSS animated second hand. Make it responsive and use a white background. Return ONLY the HTML/CSS code with no markdown formatting.

The results vary widely, as one might expect. Grok doesn't seem to quite grasp the concept of numbers. ChatGPT's attempt looks more like an Escherian masterpiece than anything else. If this is the extent of an LLM's conceptualization skills, or rather emulation thereof, I don't think we have to worry about the singularity for a while. Use that time to push back!

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/11/25/measuring-the-singularity-with-ai-world-clocks.html

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