Hear the one about the robot director? BBC lets AI film comedy and music shows

Verity Sharp, Radio 3 presenter of Late Junction, whose show was directed by a robot as part of a BBC AI trial
Verity Sharp, Radio 3 presenter of Late Junction, whose show was directed by a robot as part of a BBC AI trial Credit: Adrian Weinbrecht/BBC

Humans used to cling onto the belief that however powerful robots become they will never replace our capacity for that essential sentient quality, humour.

But it now appears that androids are even capable of comic timing.

It has emerged that the BBC has harnessed artificial intelligence (AI) to make a number of comedy panel and discussion shows staged at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

While the use of AI to operate cameras has become increasingly common, this was one of the first cases of robots being used to direct a programme.

It was possible because the cuts normally decided on by a programme director were relatively simple, involving the switch from one panellist to another when they came to speak, rather than an artistic decision about the flow and structure of a dramatic narrative.

The programmes were recorded at George Heriot School and included the satirical current affairs quiz Breaking the News, the Janice Forsyth Show, Jazz Line up, Late Junction and Global Beats - which  showcases some of the best up and coming musicians from around the world.

Matthew Postgate, the BBC’s chief technology and product officer, has said the emergence of AI marks a “profound” shift in the way the BBC will solve problems and serve audiences.

He said one potential use is to increase the range of live events the BBC is able to cover.

It may extend to live broadcast events, such as music concerts, where the cameras are usually focused on a limited number of points of action.

Mr Postgate said that after analysing thousands of shows, the computer had learned how to ‘direct’ the “relatively formulaic genre” of a panel show.

But he added: “The computer is standing on the shoulders of a generation of TV directors to establish when to cut from someone speaking to another person reacting. This is about augmenting what humans do, not replacing them.

“We aren’t trying to replace TV directors, but because we don’t have infinite resource, this could open up the number of events we can cover.”

However Mr Postagate said AI was a long way from being able to direct genres such as drama or sit com, where the range of options used to express an artistic or editorial vision is almost infinite and dependant on human creativity.

“If panel shows and some sports and new programmes are at one end of the spectrum then drama is at the other. It’s the area that’s perhaps the most immune to AI production,” he said.

BBC sources have said the Edinburgh Festival provided a good platform during which to trial the use of AI to direct shows.

A source said: “At the festival there are hundreds and hundreds of shows and events and we can’t afford to have hundreds and hundreds of directors. Using AI to direct something like panel show, which is fairly similar in format form one to the other, would enable us to broadcast more of those events.”

The BBC is already using AI to improve its iPlayer service by introducing programme recommendations as soon as the credits start rolling, rather than at the end of the broadcast, where they are less effective.

The AI identifies when to play the recommendations, despite that moment not being marked in the show’s metadata. Some 90% of shows now feature recommendations over their credits, a marked increase from the previous 30%.

The BBC is also exploring the use of voice control by viewers. Working in conjunction with Amazon’s Alexa voice recognition technology, the corporation recently released its first interactive audio adventure, The Inspection Chamber, a science fiction comedy story inspired by Douglas Adams, Franz Kafka.

In this users were able to control the direction of the narrative, allowing them to experience the sensation of interacting with the characters in the drama.

Mr Postgate said: “The most creative voice experiences are two-way, and the story can ask you questions as well as you asking it.”

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