Believe What You See: A Virtual Journey Millions of Years Into Earth's Past
The documentary series What Do We Know About Planet Earth?, created with the help of artificial intelligence, premiered on REN TV on July 5. Each episode tells a breathtaking story exploring how the planet works and the natural forces that have shaped it.
Prime-time television on a national broadcast network is usually reserved for talk shows and drama series. Yet on Sunday evenings, REN TV is doing something unexpected by airing the science documentary What Do We Know About Planet Earth?
The series is built around a simple idea: everything on Earth is interconnected. Every natural phenomenon triggers another, and events separated by thousands of miles and millions of years turn out to be links in the same chain. Guided by artificial intelligence technologies, the host travels across the planet and through time, drawing viewers into a new scientific mystery each episode.
Where Science Meets Mystery
Each installment explores a single phenomenon drawn from geography, biology, chemistry, or physics. The series opens with volcanoes, revealing how eruptions transformed barren landscapes into fertile soils, created valuable mineral deposits, and even influenced the flavor of coffee.
Rather than presenting facts immediately, the documentary follows the structure of a classic detective story. The filmmakers examine competing explanations one by one, testing each against scientific evidence and historical records. Only in the final act is the answer revealed.
That storytelling approach, combined with AI-generated visual effects, makes complex scientific ideas easier to grasp by turning them into narratives filled with suspense, unexpected discoveries, and satisfying conclusions.
AI Joins the Production Team
Artificial intelligence allows the filmmakers to visualize events that even the most advanced camera could never capture. Host and actor Alexey Guskov travels through time and space, witnessing moments that unfolded on Earth millions of years ago. Generative AI technologies make that virtual time machine possible.
“I find formats like this incredibly engaging, mainly because I keep discovering things that surprise me as well. Our project will help viewers develop a deeper understanding of the world around them. It almost lifts you to another level of perspective, where everyday problems no longer seem so overwhelming but instead become something temporary and much smaller. That realization makes life easier,” the host says.
Artificial intelligence serves as an indispensable production tool for creating visually striking sequences, which are then followed by commentary from scientists and subject-matter experts. That approach allows the filmmakers to balance cinematic spectacle with the factual rigor expected of documentary storytelling.
Spectacle in the Service of Science
Generative AI has been used in Russia for years to produce visual content, including films and television programs. The TV BRICS media network, for example, chose Lyuba, a virtual presenter created with a neural network, to host its science series Laboratorium, which explores Russian technological developments across multiple industries.
The project What Do We Know About Planet Earth? demonstrates that generative AI is becoming an indispensable tool for Russian media. The model gaining the most traction combines human expertise with artificial intelligence: writers, scientists, and editors remain responsible for the script, scientific accuracy, and editorial oversight, while neural networks handle visualization, virtual environments, and faster content production.
The creators of the series have succeeded in making the program visually engaging without compromising its scientific value. Knowledge remains the driving force behind the project, while visual effects serve as a powerful way to capture and sustain viewers' attention.
Tune in to REN TV every Sunday to discover more about Planet Earth.
