Glenn Beck gave us a preview last week of just how quickly artificial intelligence is transforming the media world, and it was equal parts thrilling and unsettling.
He showcased an interview with an AI-generated version of George Washington. The voice wasn’t especially sharp, but the video quality was shockingly strong. It looked like a conversation from another era stitched directly into modern media.
And if the visuals are already that good, imagine where we’ll be by spring.
That’s what makes this moment so fascinating. It’s not theoretical anymore. And it’s not “something that’s coming.” It’s here.
And while the Beck demo wasn’t perfect, it was the clearest reminder yet that AI is advancing faster than any of us can fully process.
The excitement is undeniable. This technology opens doors that can’t even be described yet. Anything you can imagine becomes something you can create, almost instantly. It feels like the dawn of the internet all over again — that same sense of stepping into a digital frontier with endless space to explore.
But instead of basic web pages and clunky dial-up speeds, we’re talking about the ability to generate full conversations, full characters, and full productions from scratch.
That’s why the Beck clip resonated. He could, if he wanted, host a daily show with George Washington as his permanent co-host. Not a bit. Not a sketch. A full show. He could launch a podcast, a YouTube series, or a streaming program with Washington weighing in on the news of the day. And it wouldn’t stop there. Anyone in his orbit could do it too. Anyone with access to the tools could bring back historical figures, fictional characters, or entirely new personalities and plug them into a media product.
That kind of freedom is intoxicating. It expands the creative universe so far beyond what traditional media was built to handle that it almost breaks the old framework entirely. You’re limited only by what you can think of, not by what you can afford or produce.
But the terror is just as real, and maybe even louder.
AI video and audio will become indistinguishable from reality. Soon. Sooner than most people assume. If George Washington can look that good today, imagine how convincing a synthetic version of the sitting President will be a year from now. Will people be able to spot the difference between a legitimate speech and an AI-generated imitation? Will the audience know whether a statement was real or whether someone produced it to sway public opinion? We’ve always struggled with misinformation, but this technology raises the stakes to an entirely new level.
There’s another, deeper concern. At what point do people start deferring to AI versions of historical figures for guidance rather than making decisions based on their own judgment? It sounds ridiculous until you remember how often sports franchises let analytics dictate strategy. We watch teams ignore the moment in front of them because the model told them to go for it on fourth down. That’s not hypothetical. It happens constantly.
Transfer that habit to politics and the consequences get dangerous fast. If leaders lean on AI models or algorithmic forecasting to justify decisions, we’re in trouble. “The computer told me to” becomes an easy scapegoat. It removes accountability. It removes judgment. And it lets people outsource responsibility while pretending they’re simply following the data.
That’s the terrifying part of this new world. It’s not just that AI can fake reality. It’s that AI could become part of the decision-making process for people who hold real power. And once that starts, it’s nearly impossible to walk back.
Still, the Beck video captured exactly why this technology is so hard to categorize cleanly. It was funny watching him tell George Washington to “dumb it down.” It was fun hearing him say, “speak in today’s language” and watch the AI-version of one of the most consequential leaders in world history change its demeanor. The moment was genuinely entertaining.
But it also sparked a flood of questions about how this tech could be used for far more than amusement. It forced you to imagine what happens when the wrong person uses the same tools, the same software, and the same capabilities.
AI in media is going to be the most exhilarating and the most unsettling shift we’ve seen since the internet arrived. And just like that moment, most of us have no idea what’s coming next. We only know it’s coming fast.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
Garrett, what happens when AI develops self awareness?