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 to believe that an AI can mimic some of his speech patterns, but I very much doubt it will capture anything of the man's human qualities.

The podcast arrives as such uses of AI are increasingly bleeding into the mainstream. Last week brought an egregious example in the form of a Polish radio station using AIs to interview the ghost of dead Nobel-winner, Wisława Szymborska, with three quirky zoomers (who don't exist). Amazingly enough, people were horrified rather than pleased.

"The AI Michael is not replacing a presenter, it is a new podcast where Sir Michael’s legacy has continued," says Jamie Anderson. "So it’s not taking away a presenter’s job." But that doesn't seem entirely the case, with Anderson going on to say that "these are brand new interviews. [The AI] is autonomous, so we let him start the interview and after that it is up to AI Sir Michael, who is trained on Sir Michael’s style and the interview questions. We can’t tell you the guests yet, we have a few slots remaining, but they are notable, noteworthy people."

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Hm. It'll be interesting to see what standard of guest gets wheeled out, because the Parkinson show could attract A-list talent in its heyday. And if this AI Parkinson is doing an interview with a notable celebrity then, contrary to Anderson's claims, that's an interview that could have been conducted by a human being.

Which is not, I think, something anyone sane would want. Michael Parkinson had a long, distinguished, and successful career: Do we really want some AI simulacra of the man churning out podcasts after his death?

Mike Parkinson's counter is that "it’s a wonderful way of extending the life of someone who was an outlier and a unique talent of his generation."

I can't help but wonder who such products are even aimed at. Virtually Parkinson arrives at a time when living entertainers are unionising against AI across different entertainment industries: three months ago SAG-AFTRA, a union representing over 160,000 actors, declared a strike over the terms and language used about AI in contracts. Last year the Writer's Guild of America scored its own major victory.

But there's no putting this particular genie back in the bottle. Sir Michael Parkinson once said he "fought back tears" as the curtain came down on the final show bearing his name. Would it had stayed that way.