{"id":846958,"date":"2026-08-07T16:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/846958\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:12:13","slug":"the-block-co-creator-defends-ai-editing-after-online-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/846958\/","title":{"rendered":"The Block Co-Creator Defends AI Editing After Online Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Block\u2019s co-creator has defended the show\u2019s use of AI throughout the editing of this year\u2019s season<\/a> following criticism from viewers on social media.\n<\/p>\n

While the popular Channel 9 reality series<\/a> is well known for its tongue-in-cheek edits \u2014 including sound effects, freeze frames and on-screen graphics to add humour \u2014 they\u2019ve taken things to another level this season with the help of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

This was made clear in the first few minutes of episode one, which saw the contestants transform into their \u2018spirit animals\u2019 during their piece-to-camera confessionals, as well as a shot of aliens looking down at the new HQ shed from space to emphasise how large it is. Wednesday night\u2019s episode also included a scene where contestant Tayla Peroomal had her hi-vis uniform replaced with a gold ball gown as if she were accepting an award on stage, all thanks to the power of AI.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just visual effects either. The editing team has been using the tool to soundtrack the series with original AI-written jingles, including one about contestant Adam Wagner being \u201cInso Man\u201d and another about teams yearning for House Four.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Block is fully embracing AI with its editing this season. (Credit: Channel 9)<\/p>\n

The Block fans threaten to boycott the show over AI use<\/p>\n

The use of AI has received a mixed response from fans, with some viewers admitting they haven\u2019t picked up on the change, while others are threatening to boycott the series if it continues throughout the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree episodes in and I am already over the AI songs being used this season. Do producers really think they are suitable for the show? Or do they think people won\u2019t notice they are AI songs? So bizarre,\u201d one person wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cI watched the three episodes in a row last night and thought to myself, what\u2019s with the songs and then the penny dropped. Bloody AI. They have ruined and cheapened this show,\u201d another added.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst episode was AI animals, now AI songs. It\u2019s embarrassing,\u201d someone else shared, while a different user replied, \u201cThey are so noticeable. And given the show will have been pretty much fully edited by now, I suspect they\u2019ll feature throughout\u201d.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so weird watching The Block this season. The amount of AI generated video and audio makes me wonder if the entire production team is 50+ years old. They clearly didn\u2019t get the memo #TheBlock<\/a> #TheBlockAU<\/a> #BB28<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Magnus (@trymbill) August 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

A Reddit thread has also been flooded with replies from viewers calling the use of AI music \u201chorrific\u201d, \u201cdisappointing\u201d and \u201cso cringe\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part of The Block for the past 10 seasons or more has been the editing \u2018crew\u2019 and their work\u2026 this new AI dependence is not only just terrible in terms of quality, but it\u2019s eliminating one of the remaining charms the show had,\u201d one user argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe music selections used to be one of the high points of the show; it felt like someone gave it genuine thought and had a sense of humour with it,\u201d another reminisced.<\/p>\n

\"TheFans have threatened to boycott the series due to the use of AI. (Credit: Channel 9)<\/p>\n

The Block co-creator responds to backlash<\/p>\n

The Block\u2019s post-production executive producer, David Barbour \u2014 who co-created the show back in 2003 alongside Julian Cress \u2014 told PEDESTRIAN.TV in a statement that he proudly stands by the editing this season and views AI as \u201csimply another exciting creative tool that helps us tell stories in new and entertaining ways\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Block has always embraced new ways of telling stories, which has been one of the reasons the show is now 22 seasons in. This season, AI has become another creative tool in our storytelling toolkit,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heart of The Block remains exactly the same: great contestants, genuine emotion, incredible renovations and plenty of laughs. AI simply gives us more creative options to amplify those moments in entertaining and unexpected ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbour went on to emphasise that AI is \u201cenhancing\u201d the storytelling rather than replacing it, and said it gives the show\u2019s post-production team \u201cnew ways to bring humour, personality and energy to moments that might previously have been difficult to communicate in an entertaining way\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs with any creative evolution, some viewers will love it immediately, others may be surprised by it, and that\u2019s completely understandable. We\u2019ve been really excited to experiment with these new technologies, and we\u2019ll continue using whatever creative tools help us tell the best and most entertaining version of the story,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe music follows the same philosophy. Alongside our traditional music library, we\u2019ve incorporated AI-generated music where it best serves the story. It allows us to create highly specific musical moments that perfectly complement the tone, humour and personality of a scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheYes, this is an actual shot from The Block 2026. (Credit: Channel 9)<\/p>\n

Nine embraces AI<\/p>\n

The statement comes just over a month after it was announced that Nine had signed an Australian-first content licensing agreement with Microsoft, which would allow the AI companion Copilot to reference the work on the publisher\u2019s mastheads.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, The Block has teamed up with Google this season to promote Google Search AI on the show, with co-host Shelley Craft giving contestants a detailed demonstration in Wednesday night\u2019s episode on how to use the tool to help when researching for their renovations.<\/p>\n

The series has only just returned to screens and will continue to air for 11 more weeks, so it seems like viewers have two options: get on board with the use of AI, or simply don\u2019t watch.<\/p>\n

The Block airs Sunday at 7pm and Monday to Wednesday at 7:30 pm on Channel 9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Block\u2019s co-creator has defended the show\u2019s use of AI throughout the editing of this year\u2019s season following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,11252,105,15215],"class_list":["post-846958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-reality-tv","tag-technology","tag-the-block"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}