ITV are searching for an ‘AI expert’ to ‘create TV shows, films and digital content’, and to use this possibly baleful new algorithmic technology for ‘character development’ and ‘ideation’. The successful applicant will be ideating away for a tidy salary of up to £95,000 per annum.
AI could be a game-changer for TV and film, and not the good kind as far as workers in the industry are concerned. It’s taken a long while for technology to mount a serious threat to the sector, though its knock-on effect has been one of the big reasons that the quality of TV and film has declined in recent years. People who would previously, pre-internet, have gravitated into print journalism, or publishing, or even the music business, have instead swamped TV, where there is still money sloshing about. These people wanted TV to be cool, which is the last thing a mass medium should be.
Why hire writers, actors, directors and producers at huge expense – in fact, why hire anybody – when you can just press send on a prompt?
But AI could kick away that last refuge for the creative classes. Why hire writers, actors, directors and producers at huge expense – in fact, why hire anybody – when you can just press send on a prompt and get a new show or film tailored to your needs? With the galumphing rate of progress in AI tech, it surely won’t be too long after that happy day when the viewer might be able to press send on a prompt and get the show they want in their inbox. At which point, kaboom for the entertainment industry.
At this early stage of the process, it’s ironic that ITV is going to use AI to dream up ideas. Because TV is already chockfull of ideas. If anything, there are already too many, as anybody who has spent years in development hell, labouring over shows that are never actually made, could tell you.
When it comes to drama and comedy, there is a constant hunt for new, big concepts. But this is fundamentally misguided, because a good or great writer can make good or great work from almost any scenario. Some of the best TV series are based on very basic, low concept ideas – a very angry man runs a hotel, a New Jersey mobster consults a psychotherapist, some builders from Newcastle take work in Germany. None of those exactly leap off the page.
But high concept has come to dominate in the last 20 years, with many ideas sounding like they started life on Alan Partridge’s dictaphone.
The question remains – why does ITV need an ‘expert’, when anybody can ask AI for TV ideas and it will pump out more suggestions than you can handle? Does it really require highly paid expertise to craft the right prompts? I just asked AI for some ideas for TV drama ideas about politicians that might appeal to Spectator readers. It came up with Red Hot – a steamy erotic thriller set behind the scenes of Labour’s election campaign; Thatcher and Thatcher – in which Maggie and Dennis become detectives; and most gloriously Truss in the Dust – former PM Liz is transported to the Old West. ‘Liz must adapt to this rough-and-tumble world, using her political savvy to survive and thrive, all while seeking a way back to her own time.’ I’d watch those.
These are just ideas, yes, but writers are deluding themselves if they think the machines won’t have scripting down pat soon enough. It’s galling to experience this process. A friend of mine put his entire play script into an AI and asked it for a critique. Within seconds it spat back a detailed script analysis, including suggestions for restructuring the plot and placing stress on establishing a particular relationship much earlier. Its tips were good. Even more disconcertingly, it identified the best jokes and even sharpened up a couple of them. So while at the moment you can still, just about, spot AI copy because of its rigidity and formulaic blandness, it’ll learn our quirks soon enough.
Some say this is dystopian. Personally, I can’t wait. If AI can dish up convincing further episodes of Fawlty Towers, extra helpings of The Avengers, or a spin-off catching up with Janice from The Sopranos, you won’t see me for dust. If the TV industry is serious about survival, it has to start crafting better shows before the machines do.
