The storyline of the new web series STRAIGHT BEST FRIEND is one so many of us can relate to. It’s all about a gay man’s adult friendship with his straight adolescent crush. However, what makes this potential cliche tale unusual is that it was created in Singapore which only last year repealed its 1938 (British Colonial) law against gay sex. That ‘victory’ provoked the government to immediately amend its constitution to prevent courts from legalizing same-sex marriage. In fact this largely conservative country a 2019 survey found 56% of citizens against the unions.
The second factor that distinguishes the series is that it was created using artificial intelligence, the very thing that the Writers Guild of America is currently on strike to prevent studios from doing. The producers created their script using ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that can produce texts based on written prompts claiming that it helped cut production costs and was a marketing strategy to generate interest in the series.
However, the attempt to use AI failed proving that creativity and human touch cannot be replicated. So the series writer and director took charge of revamping the script into an ‘entirely new story worth producing.
Straight Best Friend can be viewed at Dear Straight People’s Patreon.Labels: 2023, AI, Dear Straight People, Singapore, Web series
