No matter how hard you try, you can no longer escape the AI. If a website or TV doesn’t use AI to convert low-quality videos to HD, people use AI to generate images or write content for them. While occasional movies and commercials are 100% AI-made, they’re rare, but Roku is looking to change that in the worst possible way by launching Fairground AI Creator TV, a live channel (one of 300 offered by the service) devoted entirely to AI.
All the channel’s “movies” are AI-driven, from visual to audio. Even the channel’s ads are just AI. Variety reported that Fairground AI was the brainchild of Colin Petrie-Norris, the former CEO of Xumo (a streaming service that lets you get free TV channels and movies on your smart TV). The plan was to give “creators a way to showcase the ‘beautiful things’ they create through a ‘curated experience.’
While Roku already has a large reach (which will only increase once sold to Fox Corporation), the presence of Fairground AI is just the beginning of Petrie-Norris’ plans. He told Variety that he wants Fairground AI to run on five platforms, and while he didn’t specify which ones, he claimed they were “the biggest” on the market. If everything goes according to his plan, the people who design his channel’s content could become the new “Mr. Entertainment Beasts” within a few years (his words, not ours). It probably goes without saying that viewers aren’t as idealistic about Fairground AI or its future.
A Huge Vendor’s AI Mud Is Still Mud
Some people have created a game to determine if a video was generated by AI: just look for the signs. Since Fairground AI Creator TV only consists of AI-generated videos, wonky lighting and six-fingered hands are a foregone conclusion. However, without these distractions, the audience is subjected to the full force of AI’s creativity, or lack thereof.
You only need to watch a clip of a Fairground AI video on X to understand why people hate the channel. The camerawork is flat and lacking in dynamism, the pacing is monotonous and scenes are constantly interrupted by absurd segments. Oh, and the “acting” is as lifeless as the algorithm that developed the videos. As some people have pointed out, the majority of “viewers” are most likely bots and AI algorithms sent to calculate viewership figures, making Fairground AI seem more popular than it actually is.
After all, you can access the Roku channel and its videos for free. If the general reaction is any indication, Colin Petrie-Norris has vastly overestimated the appeal of his AI-only channel, and Fairground AI won’t last long enough to air on his other planned platforms. Fingers crossed. Fairground AI is finally replaced by a channel with quality programming. Something like underrated retro cult series whose license has expired.
