Derry Girls creator hits out at ITV over AI plans

Lisa McGee is behind Channel 4's hit teen sitcom Derry Girls

The writers behind hit TV shows including Derry Girls and Big Boys have criticised ITV after the broadcaster posted a job advert for someone to use artificial intelligence to "shape the future of content creation".

The £95,000 London-based "head of generative AI innovation" will head up "AI-driven innovations in content creation" for TV shows and films.

Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee told Broadcast magazine she found the news "incredibly depressing and, considering how Al material is generated, unethical".

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain's general secretary, Ellie Peers, said: "If the broadcaster has a spare £95,000, they would be better off investing in screenwriters rather than gimmicks."

She said she was "shocked" that ITV was planning to "bring in an AI expert to replace writers and other creators".

She added: "There’s no shortage of story ideas out there, though sadly there appears to be an unwillingness to pay for them.

"We strongly oppose this move from ITV, which also raises serious questions about IP. We will be talking about this to ITV as a matter or urgency."

McGee added: "I personally don't think this model will work. Great stories are in the telling, the tone, the point of view, the personal. Screenwriting is both an art form and a craft and I think what I find most disturbing is this desire to replace us."

'Cost-cutting and de-humanising'

Liam Williams, creator of BBC comedy Ladhood, told Broadcast the job ad was "depressing".

Jack Rooke, creator of Channel 4’s comedy Big Boys, said ITV was "neglecting to realise their most successful scripted projects have always been born out of real life human experience".

He said: "Recent hits like Mr Bates Vs The Post Office and long running soaps like Coronation Street have quite literally shaped, reflected and changed our society, and they are shows built by real life writers, creating characters we have loved for decades.

"That is what ITV have always been good at. ITV and their channel executives should be further investing in creative writing talent to continue developing mainstream stories for audiences, as opposed to cost-cutting in de-humanising ways."

A spokesperson for ITV said: "At ITV we are using AI tools to enhance and expand our creative and production processes.

"While nothing can replace the human creativity of our teams, we are exploring how GenAI can help our staff to work more efficiently and creatively and optimise our content for viewers."

The development comes after screenwriters went on strike in the US for several months last year over pay and fears they might lose their jobs to AI.

The dispute shut down many of America's top shows, including Billions, The Handmaid's Tale, Hacks, Severance, Yellowjackets, The Last of Us, Stranger Things, Abbott Elementary and several daytime and late-night talk shows.