Amazon Prime Video is getting AI-generated video summaries of some TV shows

“I think we’ve passed an era.”This is what you missed funAmazon Prime Video streamer on Wednesday announced the addition of AI-generated “video summaries” to help viewers catch up on seasons of shows.

According to Amazon, the feature “uses generative AI to create theatrical-quality season summaries with synchronized narration, dialogue, and music.” It will begin rolling out in beta on Wednesday for select Prime Originals, such as “Fallout,” “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” and “Upload.”

Prime Video launched a similar AI-powered feature last year called “X-Ray Recaps,” which recaps full seasons, episodes, or parts of episodes — at the time, Amazon said its AI model had guardrails in place to make sure those recaps don’t inadvertently share spoilers.

Consumers have become accustomed to these types of text-based AI summaries, as they are likely to see them when their phone is summarizing texts, or when they see a (possibly spammy) AI summary at the top of their Google results. But these video summaries veer into newer territory, which may seem more intrusive to the viewing experience than text summaries — or perhaps will be embraced by people who don’t remember what happened on “Bosch.”

Prime Video’s competitors are also exploring how they can incorporate generative AI into their products.

For example, YouTube TV uses the Key Plays feature to help viewers follow sports if they start watching while the game is in progress. Although a bit imperfect (its algorithm only seems to be able to identify key offensive plays in baseball), the feature helped YouTube TV win its first Technical Emmy Award.

Meanwhile, Netflix is ​​using generative AI on the production side of its business.

Earlier this year, Netflix said it used generative AI in the final shots for the first time in Argentinian show “The Eternaut” to create a scene of a building collapsing. Next, “Happy Gilmore 2” used generative AI to make characters look younger in the film’s opening scene, and “Billionaires’ Bunker” producers used it in pre-production to visualize wardrobe and set design.

The use of artificial intelligence in the film industry has sparked a lot of controversy, with artists concerned that these tools – which are sometimes trained without permission in their work – could put their livelihoods at risk. But some argue that tools that speed up the tedious work of animation or special effects, such as Wonder Dynamics, can increase artists’ ability to create.