Coco Martin’s prime time seriesShigabo‘ has come under fire online after a viewer claimed that a recent episode featured footage generated by artificial intelligence (AI), reigniting the debate over the use of AI on Philippine television.
A clip of the episode featuring a wedding scene quickly went viral on X (formerly Twitter), where several netizens questioned the apparent use of AI.
“They don’t stop with AI. It’s infuriating on the highest level,” one user wrote while sharing the video.
Some expressed concern about the threat of AI to jobs in the creative industries.
“Di panga nakuntent sa masaman impruwensha sa mga kabatan sa mga baliran na yang. The creative staff actors are naman gayon yung gusto nilang paritan NGAI. It may be time to strictly regulate the AI creative industry,” another netizen wrote.
Yet another user highlighted the apparent reliance on AI, which reduces the quality of the material.
“Using AI-generated video and showing it on local TV is disgusting. The budget is too much for Nagtitipido, Ibigai and Slotsaiba. You sacrifice quality, you sacrifice material. Kaya sacrifices the creative industry, pinas dahil sa kagaganyan niyo eh,” the post reads.
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Another warned of the possible long-term effects of standardizing AI-generated content on television.
“The problem with normalizing AI video in primetime national TV dramas is that everyone ends up just creating their own microdrama episodes forever,” the user wrote.
On the other hand, some claim that other materials related to the series, such as official posters, were also generated by AI.
The online backlash came just days after the Motion Picture and Television Review and Classification Board held a compliance seminar for the producers of “Shigabo” in response to complaints about the series’ excessive depiction of violence.
Created and directed by Martin, “Cigabo” is an action-comedy-romance series in which Gabo, an innocent inmate, takes on a secret mission and eventually meets Sam (Julia Montez), a lawyer who also works as an investigator.
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As of this writing, Martin, Montes, and the ABS-CBN-owned “Cigabo” production company have not addressed the alleged use of AI in the viral clip or scene. /and others
