The creators of Derry Girls and Big Boys have hit out at ITV over the UK network’s plan to hire an exec who would use AI to create program ideas.
Lisa Mcgee and Jack Rooke‘s criticism came after it emerged over the weekend that ITV had been advertising for a ‘Head of Generative AI Innovation’ role on LinkedIn, with Mcgee calling it “incredibly depressing.”
The role, which would pay up to £95,000 a year ($124,000), called for a “visionary” candidate who would led “AI-driven transformation of ITV Studios and streamer ITVX. This would include “character development” and “AI-generated ideation.”
Writers have long feared the creep of AI use in creative endeavors and the issue was among the most divisive in last year’s U.S. labor strikes. ITV’s hire plan has provoked many writers over on this side of the pond.
Mcgee, who created Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls, said today: “Obviously, like the majority of my peers, l find this news incredibly depressing and, considering how Al material is generated, unethical. I personally don’t think this model will work. Great stories are in the telling, the tone, the point of view, the personal. Screenwriting is both an art form and a craft and I think what I find most disturbing is this desire to replace us.”
Rooke, who made another BAFTA-winning Channel 4, Big Boys, was equally as damning. “ITV are neglecting to realise their most successful scripted projects have always been born out of real-life human experience,” he said. “Recent hits like Mr Bates Vs the Post Office and long running soaps like Coronation Street have quite literally shaped, reflected and changed our society, and they are shows built by real life writers, creating characters we have loved for decades. That is what ITV have always been good at.
“ITV and their channel executives should be further investing in creative writing talent to continue developing mainstream stories for audiences, as opposed to cost-cutting in dehumanizing ways. Writers currently working on ITV productions should be supported in making this stance unequivocally clear, until ITV realise what potential fight they could have on their hands.”
The Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) has also been quick to condemn the plan, with General Secretary Ellie Peers saying: “We were shocked to hear that ITV are intending to bring in an AI expert to replace writers and other creators. There’s no shortage of story ideas out there, though sadly there appears to be an unwillingness to pay for them.
“If the broadcaster has a spare £95,000, they would be better off investing in screenwriters rather than gimmicks. We strongly oppose this move from ITV, which also raises serious questions about IP. We will be talking about this to ITV as a matter or urgency.”
BAFTA-nominated actor-writer Liam Williams, creator of BBC comedy Ladhood, added the role showed that, “In an era increasingly defined by depressing experiments in creative automation, it is more important than ever to join a union such as the WGGB”
Earlier this year, ITV CEO Carolyn McCall called generative AI a “co-pilot for creatives,” but insisted it would not be “substitutional.” The broadcast recently launched GenAI ad production, which was designed to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to advertize on television.
An ITV spokesperson said today: “At ITV we are using AI tools to enhance and expand our creative and production processes. While nothing can replace the human creativity of our teams, we are exploring how GenAI can help our staff to work more efficiently and creatively and optimise our content for viewers.”
In September last year, we revealed ITV and UK actors union Equity were discussing a new deal that included provisions for AI and cloning in ket series such as Emmerdale and Coronation Street. An agreement was struck later that month. AI is a key theme in ongoing negotiations between Equity and TV indies body Pact and the BBC.