An AI version of a beloved British broadcaster who died last year is doing an 'autonomous' podcast series
Sir Michael Parkinson was a broadcaster and interviewer best-known for presenting Parkinson, a BBC chat show that began in 1971 and had its final episode in 2007. Parkinson's avuncular and warm style endeared him to both audiences and guests in the UK, and when he died at the age of 88 last year, the tributes from across the entertainment industry were numerous and fulsome.
It has now been announced that, with the backing of Parkinson's family and estate, a new podcast series will use AI to recreate Michael Parkinson's voice and interview various guests. Called Virtually Parkinson and produced by Deep Fusion Films, the show will run for an initial eight episodes, and the late broadcaster's son is doing the rounds to defend it.
"[I] really wanted to it to be clear [to listeners] it was an AI iteration," Mike Parkinson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, adding that Deep Fusion co-creators Ben Field and Jamie Anderson «are 100% very ethical in their approach towards it, they are very aware of the legal and ethical issues, and they will not try to pass this off as real.»
I mean, that should be a bare minimum expectation, not something to be celebrated. Mike Parkinson went on to say he'd discussed doing a podcast with his dad before he died, which is what led to him contacting Deep Fusion. He reckons «it's extraordinary what they've achieved» with the AI Michael Parkinson «because I didn’t really think it was going to be as accurate as that,» adding that his «technophobe» father «would have been fascinated» by it.
Which is all fair enough, though it is rather eliding the question of how Parkinson senior may have felt about this. There's also the rather more fraught matter of whether anyone anywhere actually wants this stuff. Michael Parkinson was a great interviewer not because of his voice, but because of who he was, the personality that allowed him to put guests at ease and judge when he could push a question, or how to frame a difficult subject. I find it easy enough
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