MAX HEADROOM - The perfect AI assistant?
I kept wondering why all this AI, AGI and artificial intelligence stuff feels so familiar to me. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks: Max Headroom.
What the hero of an 80s sci-fi cyberpunk series has to do with AI and why I ALSO ended up in television because of Max Headroom, you’ll see in today’s episode of ALPHATESTER.
So I’m supposed to host this measly channel? Hahaha! Hel-hel-hello everybody and a warm wel-wel-welcome to ALPHATESTER. My na-na-name is Lee Esposito and this chachachannel is about innovation, tech and digi-gi-gital lifestyle! Did you come up with that yourself?
Very funny! Yes – I did! Because that’s what this is about: innovation, tech and everything with a plug.
In “normal” life I run a media production company and get to shoot films all over the world. That I took this path is ALSO down to the 80s cyberpunk science-fiction series: MAX HEADROOM. My digital assistant here is modeled on this character.
For those who don’t know the series, I’ll tell you in a moment what it’s about. But first let’s take a look at the Max Headroom intro. I deliberately removed the original music (with AI, of course) and laid new music underneath (also created with AI, of course).
That way we can watch the clip at full length and you get a feel for the series.
Here is the original intro with the original music:
The main character is star reporter Edison Carter. With his camera on his shoulder and connected live to his broadcaster Network 23, the investigative journalist uncovers sinister machinations of the TV industry. Even in his own ranks. That’s how he finds out the secret of his employer’s TV psycho spots. These high-intensity, high-speed commercials have the ability to overload people’s nervous systems. They short-circuit and explode. Hunted by his colleagues, he is believed dead after an accident. They try to find out what he knows with a brain scan. From the data of this brain scan an AI personality emerges: Max Headroom. The real star of the show. He looks like a cartoon character rendered in low resolution. Speaks with a stutter and has a wonderfully black sense of humor.
His model – Edison Carter – of course survived the accident and held those responsible for the deadly commercials to account.
In Germany, SAT.1 first aired the series in 1989.
Whether I saw it back then at the age of 10 or only in one of the later reruns, I can no longer say today. Either way – even though I wasn’t aware of it at the time, the idea and concept of AI and artificial humans nested itself in me. I was thrilled by the idea of having a digital friend. Someone you can talk to. Who helps you in tricky situations and always has a casual quip ready.
Not only Max Headroom but also the character of the investigative cameraman thrilled me completely back then. Live and in the middle of the action.
This shot must have been taken around the turn of the millennium.
OK – not live, but ready to collect stories anywhere in the world with my Digibeta.
Max: you look pretty young there!
That was over 20 years ago! Of course I look younger there.
You’ve kept very well for it.
Max: digital people just age differently.
Max Headroom in the series, though, could do more than insult people. He could appear in any monitor and system. Like a computer virus that also lives in TV. That way he could perfectly stand by Edison Carter and his team. If you bring a bit of creativity, you can imagine this concept as a first AGI. A “living” digital person with abilities we humans don’t have.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have a digital friend, sidekick and assistant like that.
MAX: Shit YES!
Like a voice assistant on steroids. I ask something and from the nearest monitor or from my phone, Max speaks and gives me the answer.
We’re moving away from app-based interaction with our phones in the future anyway. A central agent takes over all tasks on my handheld, my watch or in my mixed-reality glasses. We’ve already seen approaches with the Rabbit r1 and the much-maligned AI Pin. No apps – just an assistant I can talk to. In some form we will still need a display. Faded into the glasses or thrown onto a nearby screen.
Max, show me my calendar for tomorrow.
Max: you have a call with Martin in your calendar for tomorrow and Dirk has a birthday. Shall I send him “Happy birthday you old geezer”?
No need, just remind me again tomorrow – I’ll call him then.
Wouldn’t it be great to always have an assistant like that available? As a first step, instead of my current voice assistant. Instead of those dots and boxes you simply hang a monitor in every room. I would love it.
First developments in this direction can already be seen at D-ID. There you can create talking avatars.
Backstory
To give my avatar a certain personality, I entered these lines during creation:
„Max is a digital person, living on the internet. He is aware of that. He is funny and has a dark sense of humor. He is there to answer questions and to talk to about anything. He is afraid of being turned off. He likes to laugh.“
Feel free to talk to Max!
There is a credit limit – so at some point he stops working.
But until then – enjoy!!
Impressive what you can already do with it. So I could also create an avatar of myself. What would your AI voice assistant look like? You could also bring dead people back to life with it. Feed the avatar with all kinds of texts, images and videos of the deceased and start chatting.
Could also be interesting for therapy. A last clarifying conversation with the departed partner. One last question for grandma. You can already “freeze” Facebook profiles. Will all people live on digitally on Facebook in the future? There should be enough information about the person.
What is currently not available – Max Headroom. The series isn’t streaming anywhere in Germany. I still have a VHS cassette here with 2 episodes on it. There are DVD boxes too, though…
By the way, Max also appeared as a presenter in the 90s and “shot” commercials, for example for Coke.
And – Elijah Wood has secured the rights to the cult series and, according to the magazine “Deadline”, is planning a remake. I’ll definitely watch it.
I hope you’ll watch the next episode of ALPHATESTER.
Max: all you have to do is subscribe to the channel and hit the bell. And don’t you always say something at the end? Oh yes – and to the AGI out there – please don’t kill them. Not all humans are crap! There are some I’d really miss. Let’s go have a coffee instead.
Thanks Max! You go have a coffee with the AGI and we’ll see each other next time. Ciao!
LINKS
D-ID: https://www.d-id.com/
CHARACTER AI: https://character.ai/
HEYGEN: https://app.heygen.com/
#ai #assistant #agent #aiagents