AI-Powered Michael Parkinson Podcast Sparks Debate on Ethics and Legacy

AI-replicated Michael Parkinson to host 'completely unscripted' celebrity podcast

An AI-replicated Sir Michael Parkinson is set to host a new podcast, featuring a series of completely unscripted interviews with celebrities. Virtually Parkinson is a world-first podcast according to its producers, Deep Fusion Films, and has been made with the support and involvement of Parkinson's family and estate. Known for his interviews with the world's biggest stars, Parkinson died last year aged 88, following a brief illness. The eight-part show will use AI technology to synthetically recreate the late presenter's voice and interview style, drawing from a back catalogue of over 2,000 of his interviews. The system - dubbed "Squark" - uses AI tools to allow live humans to speak with voices from the past. Calling it "a tribute to my Dad," Parkinson's son, Mike Parkinson, reached out to the company with the idea of creating the podcast, as a way to preserve his father's legacy. He said: "I want audiences to marvel at the technology, the cleverness and cheekiness of the concept, but mostly I want them to remember just how good he was at interviewing and enjoy the nostalgia and happy memories. "Through this platform, his legacy can continue, entertaining a new generation of fans." Deep Fusion Films co-founder Jamie Anderson said watching Parkinson's son's reaction to hearing his late father's voice was "something really special," adding that those who had listened to the AI replication had been "wowed" by its accuracy and warmth. AI ethics in the spotlight The company has expanded to create the project, hiring a new head of creative AI, an AI prompt engineer, researchers, guest bookers, podcast producers, and a sound engineer. Concerns over the growing use of AI in the industry partly inspired last year's US strike by actors and writers, which brought Hollywood to a virtual standstill. In 2022, the UK acting union Equity launched a campaign called Stop AI Stealing The Show. Performers have found their jobs particularly vulnerable to new technology, putting both their livelihoods and reputations at risk, in the case of deepfakes mistaken by the public as the real thing. Read more Colin Farrell supports 'courageous' friend in Marathon Hollywood star turns up to his own lookalike contest Made In Chelsea star announces engagement Touching on the ethics of the project, Deep Fusion Films says it is "openly showcasing the AI aspect," and will signpost that the podcast is hosted by AI at the start. It will also feature a debrief with the interviewee about what it was like to be interviewed by an AI at the end. Guests are yet to be confirmed, but are said to be "notable people from a variety of spheres" including film and TV, music, and politics. Born into a family of miners in Barnsley, Parkinson's broadcasting career saw him front more than 600 shows and 2,000 interviews, working with the BBC, ITV, and Sky. He interviewed stars including John Wayne, Fred Astaire, John Lennon, Tom Cruise, Madonna, and the Beckhams. Virtually Parkinson will be released on the official Michael Parkinson YouTube channel later this year, alongside a curated collection of archival footage.

Michael Parkinson's son on AI podcast concerns: It will be 100% very ethical | BreakingNews.ie

The son of Sir Michael Parkinson has dismissed concerns about the talk show host's voice being recreated for a podcast using artificial intelligence (AI). Michael "Mike" Parkinson Jr, a producer, says his father spoke about doing a podcast prior to his death last year aged 88. Parkinson Jr told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday that he "really wanted it to be clear, it was an AI iteration", and the producers Deep Fusion "are 100% very ethical in their approach" to using the technology. "They're very aware of the legal and ethical issues, and they will not try to pass this off as real," he added. He said that he and Sir Michael "had a long history" with this "jokey idea", about a podcast with famous guests that the chat show host had not interviewed such as classic Hollywood stars Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth "brought back to life". "Before he died, we (me and my father) talked about doing a podcast, and unfortunately he passed away before it came true, which is where Deep Fusion came in," he said. "I came to them and said 'if we wanted to do this podcast with my father talking about his archive, is it possible?', and they said 'it's more than possible, we think we can do something more'." He admitted that his father was "a technophobe", but "would have been fascinated" by the new technology, which has been used to bring back Elvis Presley for stage shows, and radio DJ Tommy Vance signing off the Boom Rock station. Parkinson Jr also said that it is "strange" when the AI says his name in Sir Michael's voice, it is also "extraordinary what they've achieved, because I didn't really think it was going to be as accurate as that". "The great thing about this AI is it listens, it really listens, which is extraordinary as it's exactly what my father's motif was," he added. He also compared the synthetic voice technology to when the Parkinson show began airing on June 19th 1971, saying at the time his father was "the new person on the block". He said the AI will "find a new audience, a younger audience, one that possibly wasn't aware of what my father could do". "In many ways, it's a wonderful way of extending the life of someone who was an outlier and a unique talent of his generation," he added. Parkinson Jr interviewed his father as part of the BBC documentary: Parkinson At 50 and wrote the book Like Father, Like Son with him. Jamie Anderson, from Deep Fusion, told the Today programme that the eight-part podcast would have "notable, noteworthy people", who are still alive, unlike the format discussed by Sir Michael and his son. He said: "These are brand new interviews, and the AI we've created is as close to the late Sir Michael as we could possibly get it. "He 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 his interview questions." When asked if it was taking away jobs from presenters, Anderson also said: "The AI Michael is not replacing a presenter, it's a new podcast where Sir Michael's legacy has continued so it's not taking away a presenter's job." The podcast will be released on YouTube-hosted The Michael Parkinson Channel in the coming months. Sir Michael had three sons with wife Mary, who he married in 1959.

Michal Parkinson's son defends the use of AI to recreate chat show host's voice for podcast

Sir Michael Parkinson's son has defended the use of AI to recreate the voice of the late chat show host for a new interview podcast series. Virtually Parkinson has been produced by Deep Fusion Films with the backing of Sir Michael's family and estate. The eight-episode series will see the Barnsley-born broadcaster, who died last year aged 88, interact with a string of new guests. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today, his son Mike Parkinson said he told producers he "really wanted to it to be clear [to listeners] it was an AI iteration".

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." 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.