FLIX IT YOURSELF
You can sign up for ‘Netflix of AI’ app that will soon create any TV show you want – click a button to make new episode
There are already 50,000 people on its waiting list
HOLLYWOOD wannabes can now create their own AI-generated TV show - with zero training.
It could be great news if you fancy making something like The Simpsons, South Park, or Family Guy on the "Netflix of AI" app.
2
2
, a double primetime Emmy and Peabody award-winning studio, said it had been working on AI and virtual characters for more than five years.
Viewers will be able to use its Showrunner platform to write, voice and animate their own TV episodes.
Hailing its service as a "simulated AI show revolution," Fable said users could "produce their own TV show about any idea imaginable."
“The vision is to be the Netflix of AI,” said CEO Edward Saatchi.
“Maybe you finish all of the episodes of a show you’re watching and you click the button to make another episode.
"You can say what it should be about, or you can let the AI make it itself.”
The new, generative artificial intelligence-based streaming service comes after Hollywood’s actors ratified a deal last December with studios that ended their nearly four-month-long strike.
But it has raised fears from some in the creative industry, who warn "we're doomed."
Most read in Tech
"The Netflix of AI is a terrible idea and a dire warning for actors, writers, animators, and directors," said a opinion piece.
SOUTH PARK CONNECTION
In 2023, amid the historic strikes, Fable released an AI-generated imitation episode of South Park - without the cartoon show's backing - to show its product.
And last week Fable launched its new platform, Showrunner, which is the world’s first AI-generated streaming service.
"Users will be able to watch AI-generated series and create their own content, complete with the ability to control dialogue, characters and shot types, among other controls," said .
But, the entertainment website warned that Showrunner's controversial exploitation of AI tools "marks the tech industry’s further encroachment onto Hollywood."
It has also raised further fears about using copyrighted materials from creators the platform could eventually displace.
There are a couple of hurdles, though, before people can become animated show creators - albeit untrained ones.
Ultimately, we’ll end up with a Netflix-like library of soulless AI content.
Lance Ulanoff, tech expert
Showstopper's service is currently in a limited beta testing phase, according to .
Plus, budding creators will have to submit answers to a series of online questions before being accepted to use the service.
Be warned though, there are already 50,000 people on its waiting list, said Showrunner.
is asking potential users to comment on its AI version of South Park; whether they are "excited about AI and storytelling;" what their favorite TV shows are and what kind of animation style they like.
"We will be starting with making animated comedy shows; are you a fan of comedy TV animated shows? What are some of your favorites?" are its final questions.
Showrunner's application questions
Showrunner says it has a long waitlist already
Small groups of people have already started making comedy AI-TV shows.
's website has a series of questions to answer to apply:
- First and last names, and your email address.
- Did you see our South Park AI release a few months ago? What did you think?
- Did you know that it is connected to a simulation of South Park?
- Are you excited about AI and storytelling?
- If you could make an AI-TV show what would you make?
- What are your favorite TV shows?
- What kind of animation style are you most drawn to? Anime? Hand-drawn cartoon? 3D animation?
- We will be starting with making animated comedy shows; are you a fan of comedy TV animated shows? What are some of your favorites?
After people's shows have been created, they will be able to give the AI prompts of up to 100 words to make another episode.
Among its critics are newspaper in the UK, which simply asked, "are we doomed?"
"Showrunner will let users generate episodes with prompts, which could be an alarming next step or a fleeting novelty," it added.
Lance Ulanoff, a tech commentator, wrote in TechRadar that it was "disturbing" news.
"Tools like Showrunner could steamroll the animation and voice-over industry," he said.
"The kind of creative shortcuts offered by Showrunner will surely prove too enticing for budget-conscious studios.
"We already know that AI is not fundamentally creative.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"Ultimately, we’ll end up with a Netflix-like library of soulless AI content.
"It’ll appear just as rich as the real thing, but be as empty of life as a wax figure."
Topics