UK Broadcasters Have Responsibility To Combat Porn & AI, Says Channel 4 Boss
deadline.comUK broadcasters have a responsibility to combat the worst effects of pornography and AI, according to the boss of Channel 4.
While these issues might be considered “a bit outside the remit of a TV company,” Alex Mahon told the Media & Telecoms & Beyond 2023 Conference that the industry “will always have a power to influence and to help, pointing out where trends and technologies make life better and where they make it worse.” “If we have that power as Public Service Broadcasters, then we also have a duty to do it,” she said.
Unveiling Channel 4 data on the viewing habits of Gen-Zs, Mahon said “thinking about content that gets to Gen-Z also extends to pornography.” “We cannot ignore the reality that one in 10 of the UK’s young has seen porn by the time they are nine years old and 42% of young people say they believe girls enjoy physically aggressive sex,” she added. “Public service media must address this and let young people see portrayals of healthy relationships, consent, and safe sex.” On AI, which was a hot topic at today’s Conference, Mahon said Gen-Zs are the first generation where the rapidly-developing technology “will be a prominent, maybe dominant, feature of what they read and see.” “Those algorithms may be innocent or malign, but of one thing we can be pretty sure: they are not written for the benefit of young British people and the challenges they face; they have no allegiance to truth or honesty,” she explained.
An example of what broadcasters can do can be seen in the form of double BAFTA-winning Channel 4 drama I Am Ruth, said Mahon, which starred Kate Winslet as a mother struggling to cope with her daughter’s depression in the social media age.
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