Permanent Committee for TV Programs at the Arab Radio and Television Union holds its annual seminar with Kuwaiti participation

Tunis, Oct 9 (KUNA) -- The Standing Committee for Television Programs of the Arab League Broadcasting Union held its annual professional workshop today, Friday, under the theme “Program Production and Artificial Intelligence.” The event brought together representatives of member organizations, including Kuwait Television, to explore the application of artificial intelligence (AI) across various stages of program production, from planning and innovation to technical execution and post-production.

Participants, comprising media professionals and AI experts, reviewed tools that can be employed in research, transcription, writing, fact-checking, and the production of images, video, audio, editing, and publishing. They emphasized that while tools may change, the journalist’s responsibility to select the angle, verify information, and preserve meaning remains unchanged.

Interventions highlighted that the use of AI does not necessarily reduce production costs. Expenses related to regenerating scenes, adjusting details, and subscription fees can add to the budget, making the issue more about redistributing production costs rather than cutting them.

Professor Talal Al-Haifi of Kuwait Television presented the corporation’s experience in using AI to enhance visuals and set design, and to build virtual characters and environments, particularly for historical, heritage, children’s programs, songs, and special events. He also discussed the use of technologies for archive restoration and improving the quality of old images, audio, and scenes. He stressed that the core value lies not in showcasing technology, but in leveraging it to serve ideas, content, and identity, while preserving the creative vision of directors, writers, and designers.

For his part, AI expert Ayman Al-Shakhari presented an overview of applying smart technologies across various production stages, starting from research, scriptwriting, and storyboard preparation, through filming, studios, and virtual sets, to editing, sound, dubbing, re-framing, archiving, and semantic search. Al-Shakhari linked the transition to institutional use with the availability of appropriate infrastructure, data, and models. He reaffirmed that AI remains a supportive tool and that the final decision on content selection, approval, and publication rests with humans. He also stressed the necessity of labeling AI-generated content and respecting image and audio rights.

Professor Hamed Al-Maliki from Saudi Television showcased examples of hybrid production that combines human work with AI technologies, including the “National Day Promo” for 2025, the program “Last Breath,” and “Sciences of the Ancients.” These experiments involved generating scenes and reconstructing historical and heritage environments, relying on real reference images to preserve the identity of characters and places.

Interventions and case studies sparked a general discussion on the limits of relying on AI, particularly regarding hallucinations, information accuracy, and the ability of models to handle the Arabic language and local dialects. Participants stressed the importance of referring to sources, verifying information, and not treating AI as a definitive source of facts.

The need for suitable Arabic data to develop and adapt models to local contexts emerged as a key issue, alongside discussions on the extent to which institutions should rely on ready-made services versus developing open models tailored to their specific needs.

The discussion also addressed economic and human aspects. The workshop did not reach a consensus on the potential cost savings AI could bring to production, given the varying nature of projects and the differing numbers of generation and review processes required.

The seminar concluded with a joint affirmation by the participants that technology cannot replace journalists or directors, and that its adoption within institutions requires continuous training, reliable data, human oversight, and safeguards to protect the rights associated with images, audio, and data, thereby ensuring that technology remains a tool to enhance production and creativity rather than a substitute for professional responsibility. (End) S.B.M./R.J.