NCIS Drops An AI-Focused Episode That Feels Written By ChatGPT

This article contains spoilers for "NCIS" Season 23, Episode 8 — "Stolen Moments"

The Major Case Response Team has been known to use cutting-edge technology in its pursuit of the bad guys. As such, it was perhaps inevitable that "NCIS" would eventually experiment with a chatbot-themed episode ... but the way said episode both features a chatbot and feels like it was written by one doesn't seem particularly ideal. 

Focusing on Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen, who actually co-wrote the episode with Jesse Stern), "NCIS" Season 23, Episode 8 — titled "Stolen Moments" — features a hefty arc that revolves around DAWN, a borderline magical Department of Justice AI chatbot that NCIS Director Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll) forces the team to beta test. Jimmy wields the bot during the case of the week and ends up taking quite a liking to it, while Alden Parker (Gary Cole) isn't quite as enamored ... especially when DAWN's advice starts getting a little too inspired for comfort. 

For anyone who has ever used an actual chatbot, DAWN comes across as a fairly solid homage to the less-than-accurate portrayals of technology in shows like the quickly-cancelled "CSI: Cyber." Less of a bot and more of a portable deus ex machina, DAWN's list of features and abilities is seemingly endless. Need to hack your way wherever needed or listen in to phone calls? DAWN has your back. Perhaps some impromptu therapy? Dawn has your back. The AI comes across as a character instead of a realistic chatbot. The latter tend to be restricted to regurgitating information they already have access to, aren't the ideal tool of choice to hack the government, and would probably be unable to give Jimmy Palmer any meaningful advice on his personal life beyond generic platitudes. 

Looper isn't here to dunk on Brian Dietzen (who has proved time and time again that he's an integral part of "NCIS") or co-writer Jesse Stern (who wrote 33 "NCIS" episodes between Season 2 and Season 8 before returning for "Stolen Moments"). It's also pretty undeniable that big changes are coming to movies and TV because of AI, so it's hard to blame a show for attempting to discuss it. 

Even so, this particular series does have a pre-existing reputation of utterly mangling its portrayals of artificial intelligence — just remember the Season 19 episode "Collective Memory," where "NCIS" uses AI to resurrect a victim as a magical hologram. There's something to be said about a show that sticks to its guns, but we can't help but feel that "NCIS" would stop making "inaccurate ways to portray artificial intelligence" a hill to die on.