ACTF blasts use of AI-generated pitches as ‘generic, warped’ decks flood in

An AI-generated image similar to those used in pitches received by the ACTF

The Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF) has railed against the use of generative AI to develop new kids’ shows after an influx of low-quality applications this year.

Li-Kim Chuah

ACTF development manager Li-Kim Chuah has posted a strongly worded blog post detailing the surge in AI-made submissions featuring generic concepts and warped imagery that the Victoria-based funding agency and content distributor has seen this year.

These submissions are “all too easy for us to spot and dismiss,” Chuah said, listing some of what its project assessors have seen, including a hawk with a misplaced face, a racoon with five limbs and a squid with a human head.

Chuah took aim at AI platform executives promoting the technology at screen industry events, often in the form of keynotes, by promising to cut the time spent on concept development and pitch decks.

However, Chuah said the tech is no shortcut to success and that with fewer kids’ projects being commissioned, “authenticity and distinctiveness are more important than ever.”

Chuah said AI-built bibles tend to reduce characters to brief, generic dot points and keep using the same episode story formula. Few of them include actual storylines that show what the applicant can do as a storyteller.

Chuah, who has been with the ACTF since 2021 and before that at ABC, added that using AI to come up with ideas, or even to heavily edit original writing, could raise ethical, IP and copyright concerns and “strip the writing of individuality.”

On visuals, Chuah said characters across AI-generated decks, whether they are 2D or 3D, human or animal, have “uncanny similarities in their aesthetics, colours, faces and silhouettes.”

Because applicants are using the same tools, even unique concepts can end up looking machine-made. The imagery can also misrepresent the finished product when it can’t be matched by the project’s proposed non-AI animation pipeline.

“Applicants using AI to illustrate a visual style in their pitch documents should be mindful that other applicants may be using the same tools. AI character design means everything is painted or tainted by the same AI brush,” said Chuah.

Chuah suggested going back to standard practice before AI, which saw human illustrators hired to sketch a small set of original characters, with those sketches paired with references to comparable existing shows.

Chuah also said AI is misleading applicants about what an early-stage pitch should contain. The ACTF – which not only funds and distributes children’s content but also advocates on government policy – is seeing overlong decks that focus on consumer products and merchandise rather than the strength of the core idea.

Chuah said the ACTF welcomes applicants of all experience levels but advised them to research what broadcasters are commissioning, work with experienced producers and collaborate with animators, illustrators and photographers. “No amount of AI research, editing and generating can take the place of human creativity and passion,” said Chuah.

Although using AI to create a pitch deck might save time, it has yet to result in a pitch that the ACTF is interested in pursuing further, according to Chuah. “The ACTF has a strict policy that only human beings can assess the applications we receive. Using AI to create a pitch deck might save you time. But our human assessors are yet to see a good one,” she said.

The ACTF provides development and production funding to new Australian children’s programmes. Animated and live-action series and films it distributes include Whale Shark Jack, Caper Crew, Tales From Outer Suburbia, Knee High Spies, Eddie’s Lil’ Homies, Windcatcher, Crazy Fund Park, More Than This and Barrumbi Kids.

The non-profit organisation was at Mipcom last week where it announced that its live-action family feature Whale Shark Jack had been acquired by Canal+ in France, RTÉ in Ireland, RTV Slovenia, Netherlands Public Broadcasting and BYUtv in the US.