The Block only recently kicked off its 22nd season, but fans have noticed a major change this year, and it’s turning a lot of people off the show.
The producers have used AI during certain scenes, whether that’s to turn contestants into animals or to showcase Gemini for the teams to get interior design inspiration.
But it’s the AI songs that are really getting under people’s skin, with one viewer writing, “Seriously producers, stop the stupid unnecessary use of AI. It is annoying, stupid and doesn’t add any value. The opposite… AI makes things worse for the whole show.”
“With the amount of sponsorship deals, surely Channel 9 could pay for music royalties from actual musicians instead of this sloppy AI garbage!” another added.
Someone else wrote, “It won’t be the most annoying contestants that drive me nuts this year. It will be the atrocious decision to flood the show with AI music. It is woeful.”
Many others described it as “cringe” and “hypocritical” as it’s bad for the environment.
Not everyone hated it though, with several people saying their children were very entertained by the AI songs.
However, due to all the backlash, post-production executive producer David Barbour has defended the use of AI to WHO.
Nine responds to AI songs being used throughout the season
Barbour said the use of AI this year has become “another creative tool” in their “storytelling toolkit”.
“One of the unique things about The Block is that it attracts an incredibly broad audience, from young kids through to grandparents,” Barbour said. “We wanted to lean into tools that surprise people, make them smile and keep the storytelling feeling fresh, while still staying true to the spirit of the show.
“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 added, “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.”
Barbour explained that “AI isn’t the story”, just simply a way to tell stories in “new and entertaining ways”.
So there you go, folks, it’s here to stay!
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