• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Yesterday

Will AI replace TV critics? To find the answer, I asked AI.

In a nutshell, the answer is no. The takeaway from asking Google Gemini that question is that artificial intelligence can aggregate a million opinions about a TV show, but it lacks the capability of actually generating its own.

The reason for this is pretty simple: AI, at least for now, cannot watch TV shows like the rest of us and determine what it thinks of them. 

But there is more to it. I asked flat out: Will TV critics be replaced by AI?

To that question, Gemini said no, but with a qualifier: “AI will not completely [italics added] replace TV critics, but it will fundamentally change their roles.”

Having said that, AI concedes that human critics have skills that AI cannot match. Gemini provided three categories in which human critics hold their own.

One is subjective evaluation: “Interpreting how a TV show reflects modern society, political climates or human psychology.” 

When I read this, I wondered: Why not? One might conclude that AI would be able to gather all it knows about “modern society, political climates or human psychology” and then relate them to storylines in TV shows based on recaps, loglines and summaries in critics’ reviews. But Gemini says no.

The second category is authentic voice & humor: “Delivering the distinct personality, wit and unique perspective that readers actually look for in a critic.”

When I read this, I wondered: Can’t a writer’s style -- i.e., personality, wit and perspective -- be imitated by AI based on all the examples that are already on the internet? I thought this was so.

The third category is empathy: “Understanding the nuance behind a director’s choice and connecting emotionally with the viewing experience.”

Perhaps the key word here is “emotionally.” It suggests that AI cannot replace human emotions when it comes to assessing such things as how a TV show might move a person.

But when I read this, I wondered: If AI cannot exactly replace human emotions or actually “feel” them, can it not at least replicate them based on all it can sweep up on the internet about them?

If it cannot form opinions about TV shows, what can AI do?

Under the heading “What AI Will Do Best,” Gemini provides a three-part answer: Rapid recaps, data crunching and SEO optimization. 

The conclusion seems to be that AI provides capabilities to help TV critics (and anyone else) with information that helps them do their jobs faster and hopefully better.

“Ultimately, AI will serve as a powerful efficiency tool to assist writers with research and editing rather than a full replacement for a critic’s unique point of view,” says Gemini.

If AI is not capable of forming its own opinions about TV shows, it nevertheless exerts a great deal of influence when it aggregates other opinions. 

Meanwhile, the influence of TV critics has been on the wane ever since it became possible years ago for anyone in possession of a keyboard to write and disseminate their own TV reviews.

Contrary to what Gemini thinks, I think it is only a matter of time before AI becomes the primary, if not sole, arbiter and influencer on matters of taste and trends in TV shows, and everything else.