TV

Watch a Big Brother Julie Chen Moonves AI hologram malfunction

Warning: You will never be able to unsee it.

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Published on July 17, 2024 07:00AM EDT

Well, she warned us. Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves told Entertainment Weekly that while this season’s theme might be artificial intelligence, that “we're going to show you it's more artificial than intelligent.” And then when asked by EW to give a bold prediction for the upcoming season, the host teased that “My bold prediction of something that's going to happen on Big Brother this summer is I get involved in the game like never before. You're going to see a whole new side to the Chenbot.”

Well, now thanks to a hilarious — and somewhat disturbing — new clip, we know exactly what she was talking about. It seems the Chenbot has been cloned! Well, not quite. Instead, the mad geniuses that last year gave us a “Time Laser” have outdone themselves by creating an AI hologram version of Chen Moonves. And you don’t have to wait until tonight’s season 26 premiere on CBS (and Paramount+) to see this haunting computer likeness in action. That’s because in the video above, you can watch the flesh-and-blood host do battle with her hologram as they compete in the first ever Big Brother “But first…” off.

'Big Brother' host Julie Chen Moonves and her hologram.
CBS

The human and hologram take turns trying to one-up each other with the latest and greatest “But first…,” until the latter begins to malfunction, leading it to repeat the host’s catchphrase over and over and over again. Where else are you going to see Julie Chen Moonves making taunting faces at her computer counterpart? Nowhere! Nowhere else!

The Chenbot hologram comes courtesy of Proto Hologram. CBS notes that Proto is “the world’s first and leading holographic communications and AI-powered spatial computing platform. Proto's technology gives life-like presence to ‘BBAI’ through its proprietary volumetric platform.” Sure, whatever. As long as hologram Chenbot continues to randomly pop up and terrorize the contestants, that’s good by us.

Also, how do we get a malfunctioning hologram Julie Chen Moonves installed into our home? Because that is now inexplicably on our wish list.