Is AI Burnishing the Beatles Legacy or Ruining It?
Should AI be the fifth Beatle?
Photographer: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Fans who sat down to enjoy the newly rereleased Beatles Anthology documentary this Thanksgiving noticed something was a little off. John Lennon’s guitar, in one performance, seemed to have about 10 strings. Behind him, Ringo Starr’s bass drum had a wonky “T” in the logo. And Paul McCartney’s face, well, often it wasn’t. “He lookin like a shrunken head,” one fan remarked on Reddit.
Their complaints are about the use of artificial intelligence to restore and enhance old footage of the Fab Four as they traveled and drew screaming hoards worldwide. The series, which was first broadcast 30 years ago, is now streaming on Disney+, with a new ninth episode and previously unreleased studio outtakes.