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LOADINGERROR LOADING “Will AI Take My Job?”, a news documentary arguing whether or not artificial intelligence could truly replace human labor featured on Britain’s Channel 4 “Dispatches” Monday, took a surprise turn when it revealed the anchor for the program was not a real person, but instead AI-generated. Advertisement “AI is going to touch everybody’s lives in the next few years, and for some it will take their jobs: call center workers, customer service agents, maybe even TV presenters like me, because I’m not real. In a British TV first, I’m actually an AI presenter,” the host revealed to viewers toward the end of the hourlong program. “Some of you might have guessed I wasn’t on location reporting this story. My image and voice were generated using AI.” Louisa Compton, head of news and current affairs at Channel 4, told Deadline she was “actually surprised at how human she looked, how she had the odd wrinkle when she spoke, and actually how she managed to convey warmth in places.” The network said in a statement released following the stunt that “the project represents a striking leap in both storytelling and technology, demonstrating the growing accessibility of AI tools that can convincingly replicate human presence on screen.” Advertisement Nick Parnes, CEO of Kalel Productions, which was behind the documentary, said the AI stunt was “another risky, yet compelling, project” for his company. “It’s been nail-biting to create the AI presenter in time. Ironically, it gets even more economical to go with an AI Presenter over human, weekly,” Parnes said in a statement. “And as the generative AI tech keeps bettering itself, the Presenter gets more and more convincing, daily. That’s good for our film, but maybe not so good for people’s careers.” Advertisement Seraphinne Vallora, the AI agency that produced the TV anchor, did not immediately respond to HuffPost when asked for comment. Channel 4’s broadcast comes amid greater concerns over the use of AI in media production and job replacement. A recent report found that entry-level workers under 25 years old are most at risk of losing their jobs to AI. In the entertainment industry, Tilly Norwood, an AI actor, has stirred backlash in Hollywood after saying it expected to be signed by a talent agent. Advertisement However, heads at Channel 4 did not praise the use of AI-generated characters in TV programming as a whole. Commissioning editor Adam Vandermark said it’s too early to tell if AI could do the work of an investigative journalist, and Compton affirmed Channel 4 will not be making the use of AI presenters a habit. BecauseTruthStill Matters Your SupportFuelsOur Mission Your SupportFuelsOur Mission Your Support Fuels Our Reporting In a time of misinformation and noise, HuffPost stays grounded in facts and empathy. Your membership fuels journalism that strengthens democracy. Join now and protect truth where it matters most. We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves. Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again. We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves. Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again. Support HuffPost Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. “Instead our focus in news and current affairs is on premium, fact checked, duly impartial and trusted journalism — something AI is not capable of doing,” Compton said in a statement. “But this stunt does serve as a useful reminder of just how disruptive AI has the potential to be — and how easy it is to hoodwink audiences with content they have no way of verifying.”
