Watching Roku’s AI channel is like eating from a trough

Most AI production startups have framed themselves as being poised to revolutionize the entertainment industry with technologies that will render traditional production workflows obsolete. Generally, the “Hollywood is so cooked” set insists that AI will soon be able to churn out films and shows comparable to a major studio’s, but that doesn’t really seem like the approach Fairground is leaning into. Rather than trying to be just as good or better than regular programming, it feels like Fairground simply wants its content to exist in the same general space as stuff that people might intentionally go looking for. Apparently, Roku thinks Fairground’s offerings are good enough to be platformed, which is depressing, but not altogether shocking as the company enters its Fox era.