With some worrying that AI would be replacing them at work, Channel 4 in the U.K. has proven that many jobs can be done with artificial intelligence and people may not notice.
Channel 4, in its “Dispatches” episode “Will AI Take My Job?,” the documentary showed how easy it was for a person to be swapped out with an AI stand-in.
In the show’s final moments, Aisha Gaban, the presenter or anchor, 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. 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,” Variety reported.
See the clip from the end of the show:
Did you notice anything different?
— Channel 4 Dispatches (@C4Dispatches) October 20, 2025
This is Britain’s first-ever AI TV presenter in a documentary. Viewers were kept in the dark until the very end. It’s part of a stunt aiming to show just how convincing AI has become, and how quickly it’s improving. pic.twitter.com/APfH4ge3U6
Throughout the show, the backgrounds, the person, and her voice were all AI-generated, created by AI fashion brand Seraphinne Vallora for Katel Productions, Channel 4 explained.
"The project represents a striking leap in both storytelling and technology, demonstrating the growing accessibility of AI tools that can convincingly replicate human presence on screen," Channel 4 said.
Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs, Louisa Compton, said that the broadcaster would not be using it much.
“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." Compton said.
“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," she added.
The channel said in a news release, “Channel 4 has clear editorial guidelines governing the ethical use of artificial intelligence. The film complies fully with these, including a commitment to transparency and disclosure to audiences when AI is used. The reveal at the end of the programme ensures viewers understand the purpose of the stunt and the broader public-interest question it raises about trust and authenticity in the digital age.”
Variety noted that the show’s AI anchor came after news that “actor” Tilly Norwood was an AI-generated person.
SAG-AFTRA fired back after Norwood’s existence went viral, writing, “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation. It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
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