> This is infinitely more impressive than Google's image generation. There are zillion ways to generate weird-looking images
Google wasn't training their NNs to 'generate weird-looking images'. The NNs were for image-classification (which is pretty impressive), the weird images were just a visualisation/artefact of the training process.
They developed and tuned a fairly elaborate process designed specifically for generating those images out of classification NNs.
The difference between the two demos is that the impressiveness of those images is mostly subjective, while handwriting replication has pretty well-established criteria to judge it by. Also, it sounds like priming is fast and does not require tons of samples.
Google wasn't training their NNs to 'generate weird-looking images'. The NNs were for image-classification (which is pretty impressive), the weird images were just a visualisation/artefact of the training process.