Black Mirror rejected a ChatGPT script – Charlie Brooker explains why
“All it's done is look up all the synopses of Black Mirror episodes, and sort of mush them together."
Charlie Brooker has explained how he has toyed around with using AI technology for a future episode of the acclaimed anthology series Black Mirror.
While the discussions around AI and ChatGPT's capabilities are increasingly more prevalent, Brooker spoke to Empire magazine about the forthcoming season and revealed: “[I] toyed around with ChatGPT.
"The first thing I did was type 'generate Black Mirror episode'. It [came] up with something that, at first glance, reads plausibly, but on second glance, is s**t."
He continued: “All it's done is look up all the synopses of Black Mirror episodes, and sort of mush them together. Then if you dig a bit more deeply you go, 'Oh, there's not actually any real original thought here.’
“I was aware that I had written lots of episodes where someone goes 'Oh, I was inside a computer the whole time!' So I thought, 'I'm just going to chuck out any sense of what I think a Black Mirror episode is.' There's no point in having an anthology show if you can't break your own rules,” he explained.
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The star-studded Black Mirror season 6 cast will see the likes of Aaron Paul, Salma Hayek Pinault, Anjana Vasan, Annie Murphy and Paapa Essiedu star in five new episodes, all expected to be as chilling as usual.
The episode titles include Joan Is Awful, which is a parody of Netflix, something which you'd expect to cause a stir but actually didn't lead to any resistance from the streamer according to Brooker.
The writer explained: "We just said, 'We’ve got this streaming platform called Streamberry in this episode… can we make it look like Netflix?'
“That episode is quite meta and weird anyway. It’s one thing me watching it in the edit, but the thought that people are going to be watching it on the Netflix platform itself? That’s quite bonkers.”
Read more:
- Black Mirror drops subtle clue which could hint at sequel to acclaimed episode
- Black Mirror creator "disappointed" Netflix didn't object to parody episode
The synopsis for the episode reads: "An average woman is stunned to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life — in which she is portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Salma Hayek Pinault."
The series has been billed as "the most unpredictable, unclassifiable and unexpected yet" by Netflix, with the rest of the season 6 titles including Loch Henry, Beyond the Sea, Mazey Day and Demon 79.
Black Mirror season 6 will be available to stream on Netflix from 15th June 2023. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 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.
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
