Amazon's Alexa Fund has invested in a San Francisco-based startup, Fable, and its groundbreaking service, Showrunner, dubbed the "Netflix of AI." As Variety reported, Fable's service allows users to generate their TV shows by typing a few command prompts. In an industry first, Showrunner leverages artificial intelligence to enable viewers to consume content and become a part of it creatively.
The platform has already caught attention during its closed alpha test phase, which saw participation from 10,000 users. Edward Saatchi, CEO and co-founder of Fable, noted the potential to revolutionize how stories are told and experienced. According to an interview by Variety, he said, "Hollywood streaming services are about to become two-way entertainment: audiences watching a season of a show [and] loving it will now be able to make new episodes with a few words and become characters with a photo."
Spanning beyond the creation of animations and VFX, Saatchi's vision is to create a new medium altogether. Pledging to avoid merely using AI as a tool for cheaper production, he seeks to create a platform where stories are playable, with millions of new scenes, all owned by Disney, referencing ongoing discussions with Hollywood studios, according to a post on LinkedIn. Showrunner invites audiences to shift from passive viewers to active participants in the narratives they adore.
Fable's foray into AI-driven storytelling emerges from its proprietary model, SHOW-2, following a research paper published on SHOW-1. It has produced nine AI-generated episodes inspired by "South Park," which garnered over 80 million views, illustrating the platform's viral potential. Jacob Madden, head of technology at Fable, told Variety, "It has been incredibly exciting to see how Showrunner ignites creativity in people." He added, "The platform allows showrunners to experiment with their stories in real-time, constantly iterating and refining their vision."
