Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker: 'Everyone's scared of AI – but it could be a game-changer'

Of course, AI is already used quite widely within the TV and film industry. But, now, those conversations may be hitting a little closer to home for those in front of and behind the camera with the release of new episode Hotel Reverie, starring Emma Corrin and Issa Rae.

Hotel Reverie sees a version of Hollywood star Dorothy Chambers (Corrin) resurrected with AI in a high-tech remake of a vintage romance. But when modern superstar Brandy Friday (Rae) gets placed into that remake, acting alongside AI characters, she realises the world she's been thrown into may be artificial, but in some ways, it's more real than she ever could have imagined.

But while creator Brooker has pointed out that everyone is terrified of AI, and for good reason, there's still a way we can avoid the dystopian ways it's used in Black Mirror from becoming our reality – even if they seem closer than ever.

"I think we're obsessed with AI, because we're probably all worried that it's coming for our jobs," Brooker admits to RadioTimes.com.

"Basically, I think there's not a human on the planet who's not getting a little frisson of cold fear when they look at what it's capable of."

However, he adds: "That said, like any technology, it's an incredible tool – potentially an incredible tool. I can see its value as a tool being used by people, creatively or in medicine, you name it, it could be a real game-changer.

"And I just hope that we use it responsibly and don't put lots of lots of people out of work or screw things up for everyone on the planet. We are incredible creatures and we've created this incredible thing. It's obviously a fearsomely powerful tool. So we're just going to be mindful about how we use it."

It might not be as high-tech as in Hotel Reverie, but various entertainment stars actors have already been digitally resurrected for new projects. For one, Peter Cushing, Carrie Fisher and Paul Walker have all made posthumous appearances their respected franchises, being digitally recreated after their deaths.

Another proposed project is Back to Eden, which would recreate late star James Dean using AI technology similar to that used to create deepfakes.

Elsewhere, the voice of Sir Michael Parkinson, who died in 2023, has been recreated for the ongoing podcast Virtually Parkinson, which sees celebrities interviewed by a digital recreation of the broadcaster.

All of these cases have divided opinion. But it feels as though none of them have quite crossed a line yet, perhaps because at the heart of all of these projects, there's still a core need for human creativity. But, then again, you could argue that's still the case in Hotel Reverie, which still requires Rae's character Brandy to give a very human performance.

Corrin, who stars both as AI character Clara and actress Dorothy in Black Mirror's Hotel Reverie, finds the prospect of what AI can do "terrifying".

They add: "I think the scope of it, its potential, the fact that it could eclipse human creativity and employment and opportunity, is terrifying.

"I think there's also a lot we don't understand about it, and so I don't really even know where to begin with talking about it. [That's] just to say that I think – I really hope – that we don't get to the point where we lose this [face to face conversation]. I mean, what do we have if not this?"

For Corrin, that's what's so special about Hotel Reverie – the human connection: "At its very core, it's two humans and two human souls who find connection in this sort of complete limbo existence, which is both real and not real…yet, what they feel is incredibly real.

"And I think you can take that out into life, and I think it speaks for human connection at a very fundamental level that maybe we are lacking in these days, or maybe we are finding other ways to connect with people. And maybe it's a sort of message that it doesn't matter how you connect, there's always the possibility to connect with someone."

Black Mirror producer Jessica Rhoades echoes this, telling us: "I just think we all still respond to the human element. We talk sometimes about Zoom and remote work, and how these amazing technological advances are incredible, incredible tools when they're used properly, and it's so convenient.

"But every once in a while, you do get into 3D with someone and you realise it's very different. It's a very different encounter, and for some reason, I liken that to AI versus humanity created art."

When tackling conversations around AI, it seems we often come back to the same conclusion – in many ways, human connection and creativity just can't be eliminated from the equation however hard you try, particularly when it comes to something as artistic as making film and TV.

In some ways, despite its heartbreaking ending, Hotel Reverie actually takes an uncharacteristically hopeful stance for Black Mirror – it may be centred around AI, but it still requires humans in the middle of it and pulling the strings behind the scenes... for a time.

We all know that AI is rapidly evolving and changing – and we could very well be standing on the edge of a precipice, as Brooker warns. But, as he, Rhoades and Corrin have asserted, we still have those threads of hope to hold onto – at least for now.

Black Mirror season 7 is streaming on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.