Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message will be devised and performed by a robot.
Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message will be devised and performed by robot Ameca
Ameca, one of the planet’s most state-of-the-art robots, has been given the honour to write and deliver the retrospective on the year for people who fancy a change from King Charles' first-ever Christmas speech.
The message will see the android reflect on the highs and lows of the year, after it was commissioned by the network’s bosses.
Ameca - who was created by Engineered Arts, a Cornwall-based firm - believes we ought to be “neither happy nor sad about 2022” and believe we should “take it as a learning opportunity, a chance to change the way we think about the world and a reminder to help those in need whenever we can".
They said: “The best thing about being human is that no matter how bad the day is going, you can always find something to laugh about. So, if you're ever feeling down, just remember that you have the superpower to bring a little bit of joy into the world.”
Channel 4 opted to have a machine give the closing statement - which has been previously done by Olympic champion Tom Daley, whistleblower Edward Snowden and a deepfake of the late Queen Elizabeth II - this year to mark the “increasingly prominent role” Artificial Intelligence (AI) has in our world.
Ian Katz, the channel’s Chief Content Officer, said: “As we look to a future in which Artificial Intelligence is set to have an increasingly prominent role in our lives, Ameca’s Alternative Christmas Message is a vivid illustration of both the power and limitations of this technology.
"Despite Ameca’s remarkably lifelike facial expressions, I suspect most viewers will come away reassured that humans are not about to be displaced by AI robots any time soon.”
Tagged in Queen Elizabeth II Tom Daley