Today ushers in an intriguing new era in podcasting with the launch of AI-powered podcast Virtually Parkinson. As the name suggests, the innovative concept is an AI-driven interview format that showcases a virtual representation of legendary chat show host Michael Parkinson. In the first episode, which can be found on the Michael Parkinson YouTube Channel, the ‘AI Parky’ interviews Jason Derulo (pictured).
The podcast is produced by Deep Fusion Films and was commissioned by Night Train Digital, with the endorsement and involvement of Michael Parkinson’s son Mike. In a teaser, one of the podcast’s producers Benjamin Field outlined the thinking behind the podcast: “The premise of this podcast is that we have built an AI model of Sir Michael Parkinson, the national treasure, and we’re going to try and emulate the closest representation that we can of (Parkinson) interviewing new guests.”
Field added: “We make no bones about the fact that we’ve never done this before, and as far as we know, it’s never really been done before. So there are lots of things that could go wrong. We’re finding our way as we go. We’ve built a model whereby you can have a conversation with the AI in real time, and it’s completely unscripted.”
He stressed that: “We don’t know what the AI is going to say, what those conversations are going to do. All we know is that, from the tests we’ve run so far, is that it doesn’t seem to be anything like any other kind of interview that you have, because when you have a conversation with somebody, you tend to feed off micro expressions.”
The first interview is with global star Jason Derulo, who has a massive following on social media. Field said: “We don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve not met Jason Derulo before. I have no idea really what to expect of his tone and his nature and his conversational style. Afterwards, we will go through the interview and work out what worked, what surprised us, and what we will change for the next interview.”
As Field suggests, it is early days for this kind of AI powered resurrection of much-loved deceased talent. But it clearly represents a huge revenue generating opportunity for IP owners – and lawyers, once the practice becomes more widespread.
