Television dramas produced by artificial intelligence (AI) may become a reality in the next three to five years, as stated by James Hawes, the vice-chairman of Directors UK. During an inquiry by parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport committee, Hawes discussed the potential for AI-generated scripts in the realm of television, particularly in the context of soap operas.
Directors UK recently organized a forum focusing on the BBC show “Doctors,” which has been discontinued. The discussion at the forum sparked an exploration into the feasibility of AI in creating shows like “Doctors” autonomously. Hawes engaged with various visual effects (VFX) professionals and legal experts associated with organizations like the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Writers Guild, leading to the consensus that AI could take over scriptwriting and even footage production within the next few years.
The advancement of AI tools like Sora from OpenAI, capable of rapidly generating video content, has further fueled this belief. While acknowledging that the current AI-generated content may not be flawless, Hawes emphasized the rapid progress in this field, citing examples like a dragon festival that blurs the line between reality and simulation.
Despite the potential of AI in content creation, concerns remain about the effectiveness of AI in scriptwriting without human intervention. Notably, writer Charlie Brooker’s attempt to utilize ChatGPT for a “Black Mirror” script resulted in subpar outcomes, lacking genuine originality and coherence.
Hawes also highlighted the intriguing aspect of AI’s interaction with Members of Parliament (MPs) on select committees. He humorously mentioned using Chat GPT to predict the committee’s questions, indicating the evolving capabilities of AI in various domains, including parliamentary interactions.
