BBC boss reacts to 50-minute AI-generated 'Doctor Who' episode

In the age of artificial intelligence, Hollywood fears how the technology is encroaching on the industry.

Doctor Who, for example, a hit BBC show, had an episode generated by AI and sent to network boss Matt Brittin, who described it as "pretty good".

However, the executive, instead of expressing concern, made a broader observation.

He said, “Everyone’s got the ability in their hands — or six billion people have — to create content at the standard of a Hollywood studio."

Then Brittin recalled, “Somebody sent me a 50-minute episode of ‘Doctor Who’ that was AI-generated the other day. It’s pretty good."

However, he stressed, "I mean, it’s not going to replace humans, and we’ll come on to that."

Speaking at the Royal Television Society conference, Brittin also said, "So everyone’s a creator. Not all the creativity is bad.”

His remarks suggest dependence on a traditional Hollywood studio is somewhat waning because artificial intelligence has spurred the democratization of content creation.

However, regarding the AI-generated Doctor Who episode, Brittin did not give more details about how much of this was created by AI.

Meanwhile, the executive became the director-general of the BBC this year after nearly two decades at Google.

He recalled turning down the offer when he was first approached.

"They called me, and I said, ‘I can’t do the job, I’m not a program maker. I’m not a journalist.’”

But then he was persuaded by the argument that he was an outsider.

“And actually, I was persuaded that being an outsider, I might be able to do the job, but only with all of you," Brittin shared.

Doctor Who, meanwhile, remains one of the BBC's most critically acclaimed shows.