- A TV presenter was revealed to have been generated by AI
- The stunt was part of the Channel 4 documentary. Will AI take my job? Dispatches, which aired on October 20 in the United Kingdom.
- Documentary investigating how AI automation is reshaping the workplace and is now available to stream
There’s no doubt that the use of AI is increasing in the world of entertainment and top streaming services, but British broadcaster Channel 4 has gone a step further by introducing Britain’s first AI TV presenter.
In the new documentary Will AI take my job? Dispatches, which first aired on October 20, the presenter was revealed to be AI-generated in his final moments. As our presenter tells us: “I’m not real. Firstly, on British television, I’m an AI presenter. Some of you may have guessed: I don’t exist, I wasn’t on site reporting this story. My image and voice were generated using AI.”
Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs specialist Louisa Compton added in a press release: “The use of an AI presenter is not something we are going to make a habit of at Channel 4 – instead our focus in news and current affairs is on premium, verified, properly impartial and trustworthy journalism – something AI is not capable of doing.
“But this hack serves as a useful reminder of how disruptive AI has the potential to be and how easy it is to mislead the public with content they have no way of verifying.”
However, it is potentially too little too late for Channel 4 to present such a real danger and immediately back down. Viewers are already comparing the experience to a black mirror episode, and I don’t buy it as a one-off experiment.
Opinion: Channel 4’s AI TV presenter stunt is a lesson we need to learn – but will we?
Look
As one viewer said on X/Twitter: “A twist! In #Dispatches! it’s like black mirror!” They’re not wrong. The new documentary is crafted with more cunning intentions and sly revelations than most TV shows or movies we’ve consumed in recent years, and I think we’ll take away the wrong message.
It’s probably pretty clear by now, thanks to *vague gestures around*, that humans don’t have the best sense of judgment. As I wrote when AI actress Tilly Norwood started making waves in Hollywood: “I can’t help but think of that viral Joanna Maciejewska quote when it comes to people like Tilly Norwood: ‘I want AI to do my laundry and my dishes so I can do art and writing, not AI to do my art and writing so I can do my laundry and my writing.’ dishes'”.
Where is Norwood now, other than an old news story we’ve already forgotten, lost in the endless digital information cycle? My best guess is that we’ll be outraged by Channel 4’s stunt for a collective 30 seconds before moving on, forgiving, forgetting it ever happened.
Frankly, that’s not enough. Not only do we need to do more (industry professionals, media, audiences, everyone) to achieve the best possible balance of AI in entertainment, but this hack has likely opened the door for more talent to be generated rather than hired. As Norwood and Channel 4 have shown, we are at the tip of a dangerous iceberg.
Watch any TechRadar coverage from my brilliant colleagues and you’ll find plenty of exceptional uses for AI, inside and outside of creative fields. However, AI is not necessary when it comes to access to talent or documentary storytelling. In fact, I’d say it’s a case of less is more.
Let’s strive to make the lives of fantasy creators easier when it comes to creating the things we love… not eliminate them entirely. I have a feeling I will repeat this repeatedly, for many years, until I turn blue.
Will AI take my job? Dispatches can be streamed on Channel 4 now in the UK, while international viewers need a VPN to do so.
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