By John Powell – Global TV

Fans have affectionately dubbed her the “Chenbot” but Julie Chen Moonves, the Big Brother host, will have some competition this year as Big Brother AI is introduced to the house and the game.

“One of the big hot topics, controversial, some people love it and some people hate it, is: Artificial Intelligence. AI. BB has their own way of doing things. Big Brother does things Big Brother style. So this year, it’s BB AI. I call it artificial intelligence, Big Brother style,” she of this season’s big twist.

This year marks the show’s 26th season. Why are fans still so passionate about their summer time guilty pleasure after all these years? Chen Moonves has the answer.

“It’s like a summer romance where the stakes are low. (laughs). People come back every summer because they love meeting new people. Maybe, seeing if there’s a showmance. It’s always about the relationships no matter how we cast it. It’s about relationships. Do we see two people who like to go at it? Who are oil and water and it’s so interesting to watch or do we see two people fall in love, or do we see like a bromance and we love seeing that. That’s classic Big Brother,” she said.

While many are drawn in by the social experiment and social game Big Brother is the cutthroat competition at its core. Only one person can win the game and the $750,000 that comes with it. Competitions like the Pressure Cooker (which lasted a whopping 14 hours), OTEV, BB Comics, Hide And Go Veto as well as the infamous Wall are yearly fan favourites.

“Some of the games are classic. People come back every year because they love seeing The Wall challenge. It’s an endurance competition where people are holding on to a wall that tilts and it shakes. We’re throwing rain, we’re throwing paint, we’re throwing cotton candy at them. So, people come back for that stuff,” she explains.

The personal twists and turns throughout the season make up Big Brother’s narratives every year and part of the fun is that viewers of the show and the live feeds get wrapped up in those personal journeys. Bonds are formed. Bonds are broken. Some houseguests stumble and fall in the game or socially only to rise up, dust themselves off and become better competitors and sometimes, even better people.

“I love all the houseguests! I say that every year and I mean it! Now, I also like to challenge myself because I like to see if I can keep that love the whole season. Because look, I’m human too, right? I know they call me The Chenbot but I’m human too!” she laughs.

Since they both debuted in 2000 on CBS and Global TV, Survivor and Big Brother have always been compared to each other in various ways. They have even borrowed twists, players and themes from each other. Chen wonders how some of the most successful Survivor players would fare on Big Brother?

“I am old school. Part of me is like: Can the first winner of Survivor, Richard Hatch, take it in here? I don’t know. Then I am like, the showmance, Rob and Amber. Can Rob and Amber do it together and be in this house? I’m old school. I’d love to see any of those three people,” she said.

Having been the host for going on 24 years Chen Moonves cannot help, like fans and viewers, develop a special, vicarious relationship with the houseguests.

“I felt like a proud mama when I saw Jess and Cody win Amazing Race because Jessica Graf and Cody Nixon met and fell in love in this Big Brother house. In my opinion, her love for him cost her the game. She was so good at this game! She knew it! She watched it as an eight-year-old with her father growing up but he (Cody) had a big target on his back… I felt like she was also carrying her love for him and him on her back and that ended up costing him the game…I would love to see what she could do in this house just by herself. She’s already got her man and her kids, she’s got that. Now, it’s time to play the game,” Chen said.

Getting to know the houseguests so personally over the summer through the show and the 24/7 live feeds also plays havoc with Chen’s feelings towards and opinions of the players. She has some advice though for those who get wrapped up in all the drama.

“I love hosting the show because it’s gotten to the point where I feel like all these houseguests are my children. My tagline is: Love one another. I know as fans love to love on some people and hate on others, I like to put on my ‘Jesus glasses’ and say: Look, God created us all and we all have a good side and a bad side and it depends who triggers what side to come out. So, I love to look at all these people and even those who suddenly America has turned on and I hate them, give them a chance at redemption. Give them a chance to see themselves the way America saw them and give them a chance to explain and change,” she said.

Big Brother kicks off its 26th season on Wednesday, July 17 and Thursday, July 18 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on Global TV.

BB AI taking over Big Brother House

Big Brother 26 House Reveal Gallery