From news, entertainment shows to documentaries, broadcasters now ‘experimenting with AI’

In EBS’ \

Indra is a Hindu mythological god who presides over weather and war. Wielding a lightning bolt-shaped weapon, Indra is known as the "King of the Gods" for his charisma. What if Indra talks to viewers on the other side of the screen affectionately?

In the EBS special documentary, titled "The Great India," which will air on June 24, the imaginary scene unfolds in front of viewers’ eyes. The scenes that will surprise viewers are the work of generative artificial intelligence (AI), not of humans. This is the first time that generative AI has been used in a documentary other than news or entertainment shows.

In the documentary released in advance at the press on the 19th, interesting scenes created with AI drew attention. Instead of a voice actor, the AI plays characters from Indian mythology and history. The characters bearing the faces of the presenters, Professors Kang Sung-yong of Seoul National University and Kim Dae-sik of KAIST, dance the Indian military dance Matsala and sing joyfully. These are scenes that would normally require human voice actors to add their voices and dancers to perform.

From the very beginning, the production team planned to use generative AI. The idea was to make the subject of Indian civilization, which can be somewhat heavy, fun and entertaining to watch. "Things that could not even be tried in the past have become cost-effective," said Han Sang-ho, the producer of the documentary. "AI has also made it possible to incorporate performances, such as plays and musicals, into documentaries."

Broadcasters are steadily experimenting with AI. MBN became the first Korean broadcaster to introduce an AI anchor in 2020, and now many local public broadcasters, including CJB, are using AI anchors to deliver news.

Entertainment shows utilize AI most actively. Starting with Mnet's "AI Music Project," which restored deceased singers, such as Turtle Man and Kim Kwang-seok, with AI in 2020, there have recently been a program, such as MBC’s "The PD is Gone,” in which AI becomes the PD and takes charge of casting, directing, hosting, and editing. The program attracted great attention because AI took over the role of the PD, which is responsible for the entire production process, instead of humans.

In March, KBS released "Kim Eana’s Non-Person Perspective," a storytelling program using AI technology. KBS is also planning to broadcast an AI music variety show, titled "Synchro U" in the second half of this year, which will identify songs sung by AI and human singers.

It is too early to evaluate that these experiments with AI were successful. Most of them were prematurely canceled without much response, and “AI Music Project,” which used AI to recreate the appearance and voice of the deceased, left behind the ethical question of whether it is acceptable to recreate the deceased with advanced technology. "The PD is Gone," attracted viewers’ attention with a fresh concept, but the somewhat chaotic contents failed to deliver much fun, and aroused a paradoxical reaction that "AI proved that it cannot replace human producers of entertainment shows.”

A producer said, "I think it's still more about the attempt than the quality of the content," adding, "Items incorporating AI, which is the biggest topic in the industry, are easy to attract production costs through government sponsorships, so producers are constantly trying to make programs utilizing AI."

However, there is no disagreement among broadcasters that AI will completely change the future broadcast production environment. Broadcasters are preparing for it by forming task forces. In particular, there are high hopes that AI will help them reduce their ever-growing deficits. "In the future, a scary thing could happen where we don't even need to go to India to shoot," said producer Han Sang-ho regarding the potential of AI. "We are at the starting point where (broadcasting workers) need to seriously think about what to do to make a living."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.