“While the ability of this AI technology to create realistic imagery so fast is undeniably impressive, there is something so hollow about it,” writes streaming columnist NICK OVERALL.

The age of artificial intelligence has already encroached upon everyday entertainment.

The first AI streaming service has just launched, featuring a collection of short films all generated by an algorithm.

This new service is called DreamFlare.

Currently in its beta testing stage, the platform aims to use AI to create entertainment that users can both watch and interact with.

So far it features two types of films: “flips”, which are short bursts of storytelling using computer-generated imagery, movement, music and voice, and “spins”, which allow users to make their own choices that determine the plot.

The catalogue so far includes The Great Catspy, a Sherlock Holmes-esque short flick about a cat solving mysteries in the early 20th century; Dilemma Dan, a Disney-inspired comedy where users get to choose how they navigate an awkward first date and Hearts of Darkness, a sci-fi film about a bounty hunter chasing down the galaxy’s most wanted.

That’s just the start of their ambitions. DreamFlare aims to rapidly expand its content and is already asking users for $10 a month to subscribe. It can also be accessed for free where users can get a limited amount of content released each week.

It’s been created by former Google bigwig Josh Liss and documentary maker Rob Bralver.

The duo says the aim of DreamFlare is to “empower creators, regardless of budget or background, to craft and share unique stories with global audiences.”

“The future of entertainment is being built by all of us, for all of us,” says their website.

But watching these “flips” and “spins” still feels far from natural.

While the ability of this technology to create realistic imagery so fast is undeniably impressive, there is something so hollow about it.

Looking at any image, video or hearing a piece of music made by AI and one can’t escape this vacuous, almost eerie feeling to it. A piece of “creativity” generated by lines of code built on millions of ideas that have come before it.

The question is, do we need this type of entertainment? I believe not.

Being able to interact with a story and decide its outcome is an exciting prospect for sure, but other shows have proven it can be done without needing robots to do it for us.

Look at Bandersnatch on Netflix, an episode of the wildly popular sci-fi series Black Mirror that allowed people to dictate how the storyline plays out with their remote at home.

Bandersnatch wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a bloody good attempt for the first time it was ever done and they did it with real actors, cinematographers and real script writers.

There is something arguably noble about DreamFlare’s ambition to allow people to create without the limit of a budget and time, but wouldn’t that just ultimately sacrifice creativity itself?

It goes back to that old adage: necessity is the mother of invention.

In the medium of film more than any other, creators around the world have had to harness their resources as effectively as possible to break through the constraints put upon them to build meaningful stories that move audiences. That ability to innovate is what ultimately creates better, more sophisticated storytellers that can one day handle the big budgets and use them to full effect.

A model of AI entertainment also opens up the possibility of more lazy storytelling across the board.

If machines become capable of generating full television episodes and movies, which it likely will, it would be infinitely cheaper for big streaming platforms to use algorithms rather than people to serve up content infinitely faster.

And that would ultimately mean the loss of the very thing that good storytelling is all about: the human experience.

Call that Skynet-flix.