It’s funny until you’re the one in the MRI machine.
The ChatGPT Scan meme consists of a stock photo of someone getting an MRI while the doctor loads up the generative AI program. This is a new version of an older meme that typically shows the physician watching TV, playing a video game, or doing something else distracting when he should be working.
The latest version makes a grim joke about excessive reliance on ChatGPT and similar programs to get important work done instead of doing things the hard way.
Meme basics:
Used to Convey: Criticism of generative AI use
Meme Creator: Unclear, potentially @negusflex
Meme Type: Exploitable image
First Appearance: Jan. 26, 2025
Origin Source: Instagram
What is the ChatGPT Scan meme?
The new AI meme shows a photo of a medical professional in scrubs sitting at a computer in the foreground and a patient viewed through a glass window lying on an MRI machine. The patient asks, “Doc, how does it look?” and the doctor replies, “Yeah one second bro.” The ChatGPT logo dominates his screen.
The meme is likely in response to increased reliance on AI to perform tasks like writing a college essay or even allegedly drafting presidential executive orders. Programs like ChatGPT have become such a tempting shortcut that people are making slightly concerning jokes about doctors using it to interpret their MRI scans.
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Origins and spread
A related meme making jokes about doctors who are distracted from their jobs by popular media emerged in 2023. One of the earliest examples we found is on Instagram, posted by @thehumourguy on April 15, 2023. In this version, the doctor has his browser opened to the Instagram user’s account and says, “Lmao hold on fam @thehumourguy just posted.”
Jokesters often caption this precursor to the ChatGPT scan meme with “lol hold on fam” or something similar rather than “yeah one second bro.” Video versions of the meme later spread to TikTok.
