Christmas
CHAT show king Sir Michael Parkinson is set to once again interview some of the world’s most famous stars thanks to a groundbreaking artificial intelligence project.
Cudworth-born Parky’s death on August 16 last year resulted in national tributes being paid to the iconic interviewer.
His first big break in front of the television cameras was as a presenter of the local news programme ‘Scene at 6.30’ on which The Beatles performed regularly.
He also appeared on the BBC current affairs programme ‘24 Hours’ and hosted ‘Cinema’.
He began his chat show ‘Parkinson’ on BBC1 in 1971.
It ran until 1982 and from 1988 to 2004 on the BBC and until 2007 on ITV.
Parky interviewed some of the most famous people in the 20th century – including Muhammad Ali, Billy Connolly, Richard Burton and Helen Mirren.
But thanks to AI, his legacy will live on and he’ll be able to interview eight of the biggest stars in the world through a podcast which will mimic his voice – using more than 2,000 interviews from his life.
This is believed to be a world first as it is the world’s first unscripted series to be driven by an AI presenter. The podcast series is planned to be released later this year with the full support and involvement of Michael Parkinson’s family and his Estate.
His son Mike Parkinson told the Chronicle: “I used to work with my dad an for about 15 years our focus was on his archives.
“We thought it was such a wonderful treasure trove.
“As we went on we decided to speak about the future and he wanted this all to continue.
“He always wanted to work and be relevant.
“We were planing to do a podcast but he passed away.
“I thought that I should still continue to do the podcast and then I thought about using AI – it’s very much part of the media nowadays.”
Mike reached out to Deep Fusion Films about the possibility of creating an AI podcast with his dad’s voice to accompany a YouTube channel of archive material preserving his father’s legacy.
AI Michael Parkinson will signpost that the podcast is hosted by AI at the start of the podcast.
In the third act of the episode, the host will debrief with the interviewee about what it was like to be interviewed by an AI.
The response to AI Michael Parkinson from those who have had test conversations in the development phase has been overwhelmingly encouraging.
Jamie Anderson, co-founder of Deep Fusion Films, added: “People have been wowed by how accurate and warmly nostalgic the Michael Parkinson voice is and what an interesting and engaging experience it is being interviewed by an AI version of him.
“Watching his son, Mike’s reaction to hearing his late father speak has also been something really special.”
Mike added: “It’s so groundbreaking.
“We don’t want anyone to think that this is disrespectful to him – people need to understand exactly what it is we’re doing.
“We have to make sure that the AI will not interview in a way that is not 100 per cent accurate to what he has done.
“It is kind of eerie when you hear it for the first time.
“I’ve always had a different relationship with my father who was the interviewer and my father who would watch Coronation Street – they’re two separate people.
“The only time that grief hit was when he said my name.
“I know that it’s obviously not my father but this podcast is really a tribute to my dad.
“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.”
