Big Brother season 26 is in the middle of week 6, but a new scandal has already erupted after it was revealed that the houseguests were deceived by producers even before filming began. So far, five players have been evicted from Big Brother season 26: Matt Hardeman, Lisa Weintraub, Kenney Kelley, Cedric Hodges and Brooklyn Rivera. A brand-new twist added to Big Brother this year has been the A.I. Instigator. America chose Tucker Des Lauriers to be the instigator, which has already created plenty of entertainment as well as some criticism.
Big Brother 26 introduced artificial intelligence, but the houseguests were misled regarding how their images were actually going to be used on the show.
Deadline recently talked to David Nussbaum, the man who founded Proto, which created the A.I. holographic technology on Big Brother. The outlet divulged that producers lied to the contestants before they even entered the house. Apparently, at some point before filming began, Proto captured photos of each houseguest while they chatted. The footage was then used to create their artificial likenesses, as seen on Big Brother. However, at the time they were being photographed, they were left completely in the dark about its true purpose, instead being led to believe it would be used to promote the show.
Big Brother 26’s A.I. Content Will Be “Destroyed”
David Nussbaum Tries To Assure Big Brother Houseguests & Fans
With the rise of artificial intelligence across various industries in recent years, there are a lot of unanswered questions about A.I., including about the long-term ramifications for jobs, education and much more. Big Brother is just a TV show, and the technology is merely being used to entertain viewers and provide a compelling game for the contestants. However, that doesn’t mean the A.I. versions of the Big Brother 26 houseguests couldn’t be used for nefarious purposes.
David tried to ease any concerns by saying Proto put in place “a lot of guardrails” so nobody will be able to “manipulate” their content without the contestants themselves approving its use. David made it a point to go even further by claiming that the A.I. content “will be destroyed” after Big Brother 26 is over. As he noted, “It’s for entertainment purposes. This isn’t A.I. It’s Big Brother A.I.”
The Big Brother 26 houseguests will just have to take David at his word that the content will ultimately be destroyed. It’s unsettling that the producers misled them before the game even began, which feeds into all the recent accusations of alleged producer manipulation and plants. There are likely clauses in their contracts stating that producers can use their image and likeness however they want, which is probably how Big Brother could get away with keeping such a huge secret from the players. Big Brother 26 is certainly living up to Julie Chen Moonves’ catchphrase to “expect the unexpected.”
Big Brother airs Sundays at 9 p.m. and Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. EDT on CBS.