Amazon launched AI-powered video summaries in November to help with the fact that your favorite shows “may need a refresher before you go back.” This is especially true for series that have long hiatus between seasons. Gerard Medioni, vice president of technology at Prime Video, said this “first-of-its-kind feature” represents a “groundbreaking application of generative AI for streaming.” Now, it appears that this has been applied to the latest season of the hit series based on the blockbuster video game “Fallout,” and we've put together a synopsis of season 1. It didn't go very well.
Everyone is already talking about the next season of “Fallout,” and its AI wrap-up is making some of the discussions sour. The voice dubbed into the replay is monotonous, robotic, and clearly AI, which in itself would be a terrible oversight. However, during the compilation, they also spew out incorrect information, such as claiming that certain scenes take place in 1950s America. Of course, this scene is retro-themed, but the show's timeline is actually set in 2077. It also makes a pretty obvious mistake regarding the end of the season. I don't need to spoil the first season for those who haven't seen it yet, but if you're just reading the recap, it's going to be a little confusing.
Anyway, it looks like the AI recap is over for now. It was originally displayed at the bottom of the Fallout series details page when you selected the second season, but it has disappeared. Hopefully, we'll probably be back. Amazon wrote an entire blog about the rollout, demonstrating that “Prime Video continues to innovate to make the viewing experience more accessible and enjoyable for customers.”
How does AI summarization work?
Amazon's initial post about the technology made it clear that even with generative AI, creating summaries is a “multi-step process.” First, the technology is supposed to analyze the season's “key plot points and character arcs” to “deeply understand the most important moments.” Amazon also hopes the compilation will “resonate” with viewers as they prepare to watch new seasons of their favorite shows.
After analysis, the AI finds the “most compelling clips,” applies audio effects, dialogue snippets, and music, and splices them with AI-generated narration to “provide a theatrical-quality visual summary.” It might have worked in Fallout if the voice was a little more enthusiastic and the details were actually accurate. Amazon also used AI-powered video summaries on other shows such as “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” “Upload,” “Bosch” and “The Rig.”
This is part of a broader push to deploy AI solutions, including a new AI-powered dubbing feature for movies and shows that Amazon is testing. Viewers are also very dissatisfied with the AI dubbing, and it's not the most popular feature on Prime Video at the moment.
