AI generates completely independent episodes
The San Francisco startup Fable has created an artificial intelligence that can generate entire episodes of a television series. Dubbed AI Showrunner or SHOW-1, this tool combines a variety of AI tools, including large language models and diffusion models, to create standalone content.
As a first project, Fable turned to the famous comedy cartoon series South Park. In a study the company details how the AI writes scripts and creates episodes.
From dialogue and storylines to character animation and background design, everything is entirely generated by the AI. Viewers can watch an example of an AI-generated “South Park” episode here:
But the AI doesn’t just generate random sequences. Users can enter a prompt based on which the episode will be created. According to the startup, this opens up a fascinating new terrain for creative expression and interaction with the media.
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“This study is just the beginning – imagine a world where fans can immerse themselves in their favorite shows, create new episodes and compete to create the best episodes of all time. Or a world where creators can use the AI Showrunner to create their own original shows,” Fable CEO Edward Saatchi told Venture beat.
At this time, the AI Showrunner is available for researchers and demonstration purposes only. But Saatchi sees a future where TV show producers can use this tool to make it available for their fans to create their own episodes of their favorite series.
Despite all the potential, the tool still has some weaknesses. The voices of the secondary characters in particular often sound strange and many of the AI-generated scenes seem relatively static.
“South Park” was chosen as the test series because the style is quite simplistic and therefore appropriate for the current state of technology. However, the company plans to support more complex styles in the future.
The innovative technology behind the AI Showrunner is an exciting glimpse into the possible future of AI and media consumption. While the tool isn’t perfect yet, its existence shows the rapid progress in the field and gives a glimpse of what might be possible in the future.
