Michael Parkinson’s son on AI podcast concerns: It will be 100% very ethical

The son of Sir Michael Parkinson has dismissed concerns about the talk show host’s voice being recreated for a podcast using artificial intelligence (AI).

Michael “Mike” Parkinson Jr, a producer, says his father spoke about doing a podcast prior to his death last year aged 88.

Parkinson Jr told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday that he “really wanted it to be clear, it was an AI iteration”, and the producers Deep Fusion “are 100% very ethical in their approach” to using the technology.

“They’re very aware of the legal and ethical issues, and they will not try to pass this off as real,” he added.

He said that he and Sir Michael “had a long history” with this “jokey idea”, about a podcast with famous guests that the chat show host had not interviewed such as classic Hollywood stars Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth “brought back to life”.

“Before he died, we (me and my father) talked about doing a podcast, and unfortunately he passed away before it came true, which is where Deep Fusion came in,” he said.

“I came to them and said ‘if we wanted to do this podcast with my father talking about his archive, is it possible?’, and they said ‘it’s more than possible, we think we can do something more’.”

He admitted that his father was “a technophobe”, but “would have been fascinated” by the new technology, which has been used to bring back Elvis Presley for stage shows, and radio DJ Tommy Vance signing off the Boom Rock station.

Parkinson Jr also said that it is “strange” when the AI says his name in Sir Michael’s voice, it is also “extraordinary what they’ve achieved, because I didn’t really think it was going to be as accurate as that”.

“The great thing about this AI is it listens, it really listens, which is extraordinary as it’s exactly what my father’s motif was,” he added.

He also compared the synthetic voice technology to when the Parkinson show began airing on June 19 1971, saying at the time his father was “the new person on the block”.

He said the AI will “find a new audience, a younger audience, one that possibly wasn’t aware of what my father could do”.

“In many ways, it’s a wonderful way of extending the life of someone who was an outlier and a unique talent of his generation,” he added.

Parkinson Jr interviewed his father as part of the BBC documentary: Parkinson At 50 and wrote the book Like Father, Like Son with him.

Jamie Anderson, from Deep Fusion, told the Today programme that the eight-part podcast would have “notable, noteworthy people”, who are still alive, unlike the format discussed by Sir Michael and his son.

He said: “These are brand new interviews, and the AI we’ve created is as close to the late Sir Michael as we could possibly get it.

“He is autonomous, so we let him start the interview and after that it is up to AI Sir Michael, who is trained on Sir Michael’s style and his interview questions.”

When asked if it was taking away jobs from presenters, Anderson also said: “The AI Michael is not replacing a presenter, it’s a new podcast where Sir Michael’s legacy has continued so it’s not taking away a presenter’s job.”

The podcast will be released on YouTube-hosted The Michael Parkinson Channel in the coming months.

Sir Michael had three sons with wife Mary, who he married in 1959.