‘Slow Horses’ director predicts an AI-generated TV show could arrive in “three to five years”
As the quality of artificial intelligence has rapidly improved over the past few years, many film and television professionals have expressed concern over its use in media, with Slow Horses director James Hawes now warning that an AI-generated TV show is closer than you might think.
AI is now at an advanced enough stage that several people have made short films using the technology, and some filmmakers believe that it won’t be long before this becomes even more widespread.
Now, Hawes, the director of Apple TV’s Slow Horses, has revealed that he is worried an entire television series powered by AI is set to happen.
After discussing his concerns with other filmmakers and professionals at SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, he realised that the threat of AI-generated media is imminent.
He speculated to Deadline of when an entirely AI-generated TV show could be made, “The best guess was three to five years. Someone will say, ‘Create a scene in an ER room where a doctor comes in and he’s having an affair with a woman, and they’re flirting, and someone is dying on the table,’ and [AI] will start to create it.”
Hawes added, “Maybe it won’t be as polished as we are used to but that is how close we are getting. My worry is that if we don’t get up to speed with this then the AI-generated stories will come from elsewhere.”
“We need to take note and act on it now. Silicon Valley is way ahead,” he believes. The filmmaker also highlighted how non-AI media welcomes improvisation between actors and natural, unexpected moments of brilliance, which cannot be achieved with AI.
It feels unlikely that whole projects made from AI will become popular with movie-goers due to their innate lack of humanity. However, the threat is still very real and remains on the radar of many in the industry who are against the idea. Last year, Bryan Cranston said: “Right now, at this juncture in our business, AI presents a threat to social interaction and social interaction is often the germ for ideas that become creative content. Go through any studio or network right now. It’s quiet. It’s empty. Six people are in the building.”
