Appearing on a major British TV chat show could build or end a showbiz career in the 1970s and ’80s. It wasn’t just adding new projects to the celebrity lineup and promoting them.
Sir Michael Parkinson first gave Billy Connolly, an unknown Scottish comic, the chance to appear on a BBC show in 1975. A year later, Parkinson and Rod Hull’s battle with the emu doll made television history. Then, when Meg Ryan derailed an interview in 2003, her public image as a sunny Hollywood heroine took a hit. It doesn’t seem like interviewers are going to be “perky” anymore. It turns out they do, although now is an exception.
An exact voice replica of Mr Parkinson, who died last year at the age of 88, will be launched later this year as an AI presenter on a celebrity interview podcast. The unscripted eight-part series “Virtual Parkinson” allows new guests to ask questions in Parkinson’s famous laid-back style, with the full support of his family and legacy. Created by Deep Fusion Films, this podcast is believed to be the first podcast to be hosted entirely by an AI host.
“We’re bringing in a new generation of talent as guests, but that doesn’t mean we won’t go back to people he’s interviewed before,” said Mike Parkinson, Sir Michael’s son. “Doing this now and trying something so new, I feel like it’s a little bit like how he felt in 1971 when the show started.”
The AI version of his father is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, which includes encounters with sports heroes such as footballer George Best and the great boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who has returned for three rematches. Powered by data culled from a back catalog of hundreds of VIP interviews. . Parkinson also interviewed many of the screen’s greatest stars, including Fred Astaire, David Niven, Bette Davis, and Lauren Bacall.
According to his son, the new AI’s voice bears no resemblance to Sir Michael’s voice. It’s his voice. “It’s just the way he delivers his questions. Even the pace is the same. People go silent when they hear that.”
Created by Deep Fusion co-founders Ben Field and Jamie Anderson, AI Parkinson’s sound differs from the kind of imitations created by impressionists like Rory Bremner. “They are caricatures, drawn for effect. In fact, my father was very good at impersonation, especially at first, because he mainly listened and didn’t put himself forward. It was difficult. I think at first he tried to hide his Yorkshire vowels, but as his confidence grew he started speaking in a more authentic voice, adding a bit of an urbane sheen.
Unexpectedly, this famous interviewer can also testify to the accuracy of his AI embodiment. “I’ve always admired the Observer,” he told readers of this weekend in his unmistakably South Yorkshire tones, before insisting: I would like to read the article.
“We never tell the AI what to say,” said Field, who is also a co-producer of the new show with Anderson. After we entered everything we knew, we asked him to say “hello.” ” The duo is now closing in on the roster of A-listers who will be taking part in the series.
At the beginning of each episode, the AI host, Parkinson, indicates that he is artificially generated. Then, towards the end, the tone changes when the interviewee is asked how it felt to be asked questions by a digital entity.
“My father and I often thought about the people he couldn’t talk to, the great names of the past. He never lost the desire to interview people, he just lost some of his energy. We often joked about the idea of a “Jurassic” talk show where he would bring in stars and interview them. He would have been coming out of retirement for Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth, he said. ”
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Parkinson Jr. was introduced to Field and Anderson when he was looking for additional content to use on a YouTube channel dedicated to his father’s archives. “They suggested we do something really bold instead: Why not have him interview the next generation of talent that he would have been fascinated by? He would have loved it.” he said.
A few weeks later, he was warned that he was about to receive a surprising voice message. “Hearing my dad’s voice was special, but not necessarily in the way you’d imagine, because I was always able to separate him from Michael Parkinson for work. And , that’s the man I heard when he wore a suit and tie,” Parkinson said.
“I know the development of AI is controversial, but I felt like if it was going to happen, I’d rather it work. These are the kind of people who love doing things.”
Field and Anderson said they would only work with the consent of the person’s estate and the involvement of next of kin. “Sir Michael defined a new style of interviewing, so it’s really appropriate. But as technology evolves, others may explore this kind of legacy work, so what we can do is All you have to do is protect it,” said Field, who advised on AI policy. “Importantly, even if the AI content cannot be used legally, it is licensed and not simply scraped from the web. We are also creating jobs. This podcast is created without technology. could not exist.”
Digital advances aren’t the only way to bring back chat show hosts of the past. Sir Terry Wogan is to be reincarnated on stage in London later this year, with the help of a wig, by comedian Benjamin Alborough. On the show Late Night with Terry Wogan, actors playing celebrity guests sit in chairs across from Alborough.
But for a son with Parkinson’s disease, respect for his father’s skills will be more than just a novelty. It’s a way to introduce his work to new audiences. This might even allow a deceased father to take posthumous revenge against a troublesome former client. “Wouldn’t it be nice to finally get revenge on Emu?” he said.
