Jack Dorsey revives Vine app after 9 years as Divine

Almost a decade after Jack Dorsey shut down Vine in 2017, the legendary six-second video platform has been relaunched as Divine, funded by the very man who killed it. This new app is a response to the rise of content and videos created using algorithms and artificial intelligence on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

Divine acts as both an archive and a rebirth. It contains half a million original Vine clips, forming part of the digital archiving of internet history along with other human-generated videos. Its main purpose remains clear: "freedom from AI slop."

All videos must be generated by human beings, either through direct human video creation inside the app or through the Guardian Project, a non-profit organisation dedicated to digital rights.

At its height, Vine had 100 million monthly active users and even gave birth to the careers of people like Logan Paul. With Twitter shutting down Vine in 2017, it had created a vacuum that was later filled by TikTok. However, Divine comes with a unique proposition – human creativity vs. AI-driven creativity.

Divine was founded by Evan Henshaw-Plath, also known as Rabble on the Internet, and he used to work for Twitter. Funding is supplied by Dorsey’s non-profit and Other Stuff; this company focuses on developing open-source social media projects.

As for Dorsey, he admitted the flaws that existed in Vine in its original form, stressing that Divine creators would be able to retain their content and followers without any external sources of income.

The most distinguishing aspect about Divine is that it refuses to incorporate AI content. Nowadays, when social media face issues connected with fake videos, Divine relies on people to verify every uploaded piece of content.