Michael Parkinson and I had a great deal in common. Working-class grammar school kids from Barnsley, surprisingly given titles – he became a knight and I a dame – we were both drawn to journalism and knew instinctively how to carry out a great interview.
![[The first episode of the podcast Virtually Parkinson, with an AI 'Parky' interviewing the US singer-songwriter Jason Derulo (pictured), is 'an embarrassment', according to Jenni Murray]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/15/15/94125255-14288089-image-m-40_1736955090253.jpg)
Parkinson sadly died in 2023, but his son, Mike, is clearly keen that his career continues. How can this be so? Thank AI, which has learned to speak and ask questions like Parky and is now interviewing real-life guests – including gardening expert Monty Don and Strictly winner Chris McCausland – on a podcast called Virtually Parkinson.
![[Michael Parkinson's 2003 interview with the actress Meg Ryan, in which he called out her petulant monosyllabic responses]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/15/16/94125235-14288089-Michael_Parkinson_s_infamous_interview_with_the_actress_Meg_Ryan-m-46_1736956813496.jpg)
I can’t think of anything worse. If my sons set out to make a living out of my talent after I died, I would be so horrified I would come back, haunt them and make their lives a misery. The first of the Virtually Parkinson podcasts, where AI Parkinson interviews the US singer-songwriter Jason Derulo, is an embarrassment. The voice sounds similar to that of the original, with that hint of a Barnsley accent, but there’s no Parky in it.
![[Harry and Meghan comfort people in Pasadena left homeless after the fires that swept through Los Angeles county]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/15/15/94126669-14288089-image-a-42_1736956438081.jpg)
The AI version has been trained on thousands of the great man’s real interviews, and is fed pages of data on its new interviewees, yet none of its questions has the warmth, humour or sparkle Parkinson had. They are boring – the kind of questions a dull rookie would pose.
![[Women who say they are tired are not given a break - literally or figuratively]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/15/15/94126515-14288089-image-m-44_1736956651938.jpg)
The great art of the interviewer is looking the interviewee in the eye and listening to every word they’re saying. AI Parky cannot respond to hearing something surprising. The interviewee may be real, but without any human reaction to what they say – a slight grimace, a loaded pause – the interchange sounds rehearsed, dull and barely human.
