An AI agent reportedly wiped an entire season of a TV show just weeks before its premiere. Season two of The Challenge Sverige, Sweden's version of MTV's The Challenge, was set to air on November 22, but the production team let an AI agent loose on its server, which deleted the edited show with no chance to recover the files.
Production Setback
Sources told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that production company Mastiff had been working on the series for a year. Hundreds of staff will now need to redo the season from scratch so it can drop next year instead.
Host Ahmed Berhan appeared to only find out when Aftonbladet approached him for comment. 'Is it true?! I knew AI would be the death of me, this is just the beginning,' he said. 'You know, some days you just have to accept that you're living in a f*cking sitcom.'
Network Response
TV4 didn't blame an AI agent but told Aftonbladet that a 'technical breakdown' meant the episodes weren't backed up. Programme director Mia Lindqvist said it wasn't an 'AI agent that acted independently'.
'On the other hand, most production companies use AI in their work processes these days, but that's a completely different matter,' she said. 'In this case, the big problem is that their backup didn't work and that means they have to recut everything from scratch.'
Impact and Investigation
'The raw material exists, so there is no problem, but of course it means that we lose time.' The loss of the footage was down to 'human' error, TV4's internal investigation found. She did not confirm a new season premiere date but said it is 'super sad' it won't be airing in November.
Mastiff and TV4 have been approached for comment.
