BBC Boss Courts Controversy With AI Doctor Who Comments

BBC Director-General Matt Brittin has revealed that he was recently sent an entirely AI-generated episode of Doctor Who, and his verdict may prove controversial among some fans.

Speaking at the Royal Television Society Convention in London (Via Deadline), Brittin discussed the rapidly increasing capabilities of generative AI and suggested that technology has dramatically lowered the barrier to creating professional-looking entertainment.

“Everyone’s got the ability in their hands, or six billion people have, to create content at the standard of a Hollywood studio,” Brittin said, according to Deadline.

He then offered a particularly relevant example for Doctor Who fans.

“Somebody sent me a 50-minute episode of ‘Doctor Who’ that was AI-generated the other day. It’s pretty good,” Brittin said.

However, the BBC boss was quick to stress that he does not see AI replacing the people traditionally responsible for making television.

“I mean, it’s not going to replace humans, and we’ll come on to that. So everyone’s a creator. Not all the creativity is bad.”

Brittin did not identify the episode, but a strong possibility is the recently released AI-assisted fan production The Curse of Kilmorag, part of The Unmade Season project.

The full-length episode attracted controversy over its use of generative AI and was later removed from YouTube following a third-party copyright claim. Its creator also claimed he received death threats over the project.

Given the timing and similar running time, it may be what Brittin was referring to, although he gave no details confirming this.

There is currently no indication that the BBC plans to make AI-generated Doctor Who episodes.

However, Brittin’s positive comments suggest the BBC’s leadership is at least open to the technology’s creative potential. In future, AI could potentially be used in areas such as development, visual effects or pre-visualisation, rather than replacing writers, actors or production crews.

For now, Brittin’s comments show that AI-generated Doctor Who has already caught the attention of the BBC’s top boss.