Documentary Journalist Warns AI ‘Will Take’ People’s Jobs with Shocking Reveal: ‘I’m Not Real’

A British TV network shocked viewers into a debate over artificial intelligence and job automation after the journalist hosting its hour-long Dispatches documentary special on Monday – entitled ‘Will AI Take My Job?’ – revealed, in a Black Mirror-style twist, that she was not human at all.

The Channel 4 show followed its familiar and regular broadcast structure, this time investigating the promise and perils of an AI future in reshaping the workplace and what it means for public trust, until its final moments.

As the presenter concluded the show, she said: “AI is going to touch everybody’s lives in the next few years. And for some, it will take their jobs. Call center workers? Customer service agents? Maybe even TV presenters like me. Because I’m not real.”

The persona continued: “In a British TV first, I’m an AI presenter. Some of you might have guessed: I don’t exist, I wasn’t on location reporting this story. My image and voice were generated using AI.”

Speaking to Variety the broadcaster’s head of news and current affairs, Louisa Compton, insisted the experiment would not become a trend.

“The use of an AI presenter is not something we will be making a habit of at Channel 4 – instead our focus in news and current affairs is on premium, fact-checked, duly impartial and trusted journalism – something AI is not capable of doing,” she said.

She added: “But this stunt does serve as a useful reminder of just how disruptive AI has the potential to be – and how easy it is to hoodwink audiences with content they have no way of verifying.”

In early September, First Lady Melania Trump warned of the need to prepare children for life in the digital era as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly influential, convening a task force meeting on AI education during which she declared that “the robots are here.”

Watch above via Channel 4.