ITV News uses generative AI to reconstruct locations and performances

The use of generative AI in current affairs highlights a strategic pivot toward using synthetic media as a factual reporting tool rather than just a cost-cutting measure for drama. By licensing likenesses and stylizing the output, ITV establishes a template for 'responsible use' that preserves human employment while bypassing the logistical hurdles of filming in hazardous regions. This move signals a broader acceptance of AI-augmented reconstructions in streaming journalism, provided there is transparency in the production process. Watch for more broadcasters to seek similar licensing frameworks as they move from pilot experiments to standardized AI-inclusive workflows.

The rollout of AI-augmented reporting follows a trend of UK broadcasters establishing specific ethical frameworks for synthetic content. Per BroadcastNow, the BBC issued guidelines in January 2025 requiring total transparency to ensure audiences never feel misled by AI applications. While the BBC initially prohibited generative AI for creating core news content, other broadcasters like Channel 4 announced in May 2025 that they would use AI to assist in reconstructing events and disguising anonymous interviews, provided the technology serves the story and maintains individual integrity.

Contemporaneous regulatory efforts are also shaping how broadcasters manage performer rights. Per legal reporting from July 2026, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the NO FAKES Act to create a federal framework for unauthorized AI-generated replicas, making digital likenesses a core negotiation point in entertainment contracts. Similarly, Netflix disclosed in its Q2 2026 shareholder letter that it now requires enhanced review and written approval for any production involving actor likenesses or personal data, noting that roughly 300 of its titles had utilized generative AI during the year.

The use of AI for forensic reconstruction in the 'Liquid Bomb Plot' documentary also mirrors historical successes of the technology in this specific investigation. Per ADS Group reporting, original intelligence efforts used natural language processing from Basis Technology to foil the 2006 plot by intercepting communications. The shift from using AI as a surveillance tool to help stop the event to using it as a production tool to visualize it highlights a full-circle integration in the documentary's lifecycle.