Nine's long-running renovation series The Block has leaned on generative AI across its 2026 season, and its co-creator has defended the choice after viewers complained and some threatened to stop watching. The show has long been known for jokey post-production, with sound effects, freeze frames and cheeky graphics, but this year the edits add AI transformations and songs written by AI.
Viewers saw it from the first episode, when contestants turned into their "spirit animals" during interviews and the new headquarters shed was shown being eyed by aliens from space. Another episode swapped contestant Tayla Peroomal's hi-vis workwear for a gold gown, as if she were collecting an award. The soundtrack now includes original AI-made jingles about the cast, among them one calling contestant Adam Wagner "Inso Man" and another about the teams longing for House Four.
Reaction has been split. Some fans said they had not noticed anything, and one described binge-watching three episodes before realising the songs were AI, but posts on Facebook and a busy Reddit thread called the songs cheap, embarrassing and "cringe", and several longtime viewers said the hand-picked music and the editors' humour had been among the show's best features. Others argued it was too late to change course because the season would already be largely edited.
David Barbour, the post-production executive producer who created the show with Julian Cress in 2003, told PEDESTRIAN.TV he stands by the work. He pointed to the show reaching its 22nd season by trying new ways of telling stories, described AI as one more storytelling tool that adds options for humour and energy rather than replacing the editors, said AI music sits alongside the usual music library where it suits a scene, and acknowledged that some viewers would take time to accept it. He added that the production intends to keep using whatever tools help it tell the story.
The season's AI use sits alongside wider deals at the network. Nine recently signed a licensing agreement letting Microsoft's Copilot draw on its mastheads' journalism, and The Block is promoting Google's AI search this year, with host Shelley Craft demonstrating it to contestants on air. With eleven weeks of the season still to run, the AI edits and songs look set to continue.
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