The Block Co-Creator Defends AI Editing After Online Backlash

The Block’s co-creator has defended the show’s use of AI throughout the editing of this year’s season following criticism from viewers on social media.

While the popular Channel 9 reality series is well known for its tongue-in-cheek edits — including sound effects, freeze frames and on-screen graphics to add humour — they’ve taken things to another level this season with the help of artificial intelligence.

This was made clear in the first few minutes of episode one, which saw the contestants transform into their ‘spirit animals’ 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’s 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.

It’s 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 “Inso Man” and another about teams yearning for House Four.

The Block fans threaten to boycott the show over AI use

The use of AI has received a mixed response from fans, with some viewers admitting they haven’t picked up on the change, while others are threatening to boycott the series if it continues throughout the season.

“Three 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’t notice they are AI songs? So bizarre,” one person wrote on Facebook.

“I watched the three episodes in a row last night and thought to myself, what’s with the songs and then the penny dropped. Bloody AI. They have ruined and cheapened this show,” another added.

“First episode was AI animals, now AI songs. It’s embarrassing,” someone else shared, while a different user replied, “They are so noticeable. And given the show will have been pretty much fully edited by now, I suspect they’ll feature throughout”.

A Reddit thread has also been flooded with replies from viewers calling the use of AI music “horrific”, “disappointing” and “so cringe”.

“The best part of The Block for the past 10 seasons or more has been the editing ‘crew’ and their work… this new AI dependence is not only just terrible in terms of quality, but it’s eliminating one of the remaining charms the show had,” one user argued.

“The 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,” another reminisced.

The Block co-creator responds to backlash

The Block’s post-production executive producer, David Barbour — who co-created the show back in 2003 alongside Julian Cress — told PEDESTRIAN.TV in a statement that he proudly stands by the editing this season and views AI as “simply another exciting creative tool that helps us tell stories in new and entertaining ways”.

“The 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,” he explained.

“The 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.”

Barbour went on to emphasise that AI is “enhancing” the storytelling rather than replacing it, and said it gives the show’s post-production team “new ways to bring humour, personality and energy to moments that might previously have been difficult to communicate in an entertaining way”.

“As with any creative evolution, some viewers will love it immediately, others may be surprised by it, and that’s completely understandable. We’ve been really excited to experiment with these new technologies, and we’ll continue using whatever creative tools help us tell the best and most entertaining version of the story,” he continued.

“The music follows the same philosophy. Alongside our traditional music library, we’ve 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.”

Nine embraces AI

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’s mastheads.

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’s episode on how to use the tool to help when researching for their renovations.

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’t watch.

The Block airs Sunday at 7pm and Monday to Wednesday at 7:30 pm on Channel 9.