Deafblind unmasking of The Mole with AI
The Mole is a popular TV program where candidates perform tasks together to earn money. However, one of them is the Mole, a saboteur who inconspicuously tries to prevent tasks from succeeding. The others must unmask the saboteur to win the game.
In my search for the Mole, I use techniques you might not expect: audio description and closed captions. These techniques were originally designed to give people with visual and/or auditory impairments equal access to media.
But they can also help you unmask the Mole! Accessibility once again proves to have benefits for everyone.
Step 1: Audio Description
Audio Description makes series, films, and performances accessible to people who are visually impaired or blind. A voice describes what can be seen between dialogues. This makes the story clearer for people with visual impairments.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 295 million people worldwide have moderate to severe vision impairment. This group consists of roughly 43 million people who are blind.
Thanks to Audio Description, this group also has access to visual media.
In The Netherlands, the NPO (Dutch Public Broadcasting) started researching audio description possibilities in 2016. Since the anniversary season (2020), you can experience The Mole with audio description. The finale is also provided with live audio description.
From 2023 to 2026, the Dutch government provides the NPO with an extra million euros each year to provide public television programs with audio description. In 2022, the NPO indicated that 1 to 4% of content contains audio description.
Video: Who Is The Mole? 2020 teaser with audio description (Dutch)
Audio description not only adds an extra layer to the story but sometimes reveals hints that remain hidden to others.
Using the Earcatch app, you can download episodes, which are audio files. When playing an episode, the app listens through the microphone to synchronize the audio with the episode on television.
Step 2: Closed Captions
Subtitles are usually shown at the bottom of the screen and contains textual information about the dialogue of a program.
The most commonly used subtitling has no addition for the deaf and hard of hearing. In English, this is called "Subtitles."
Subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing also describes important sounds that can be heard. In English, this is called "Closed Captions."
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide live with some degree of hearing loss. This group consists of roughly 75 million people who are deaf.
Captions are essential for them so they can access to audiovisual media. Additionally, other people use subtitling, for example, due to environmental noise or limited language proficiency.
According to the WFD (World Federation of the Deaf), there are approximately 70 million deaf people worldwide. Sadly enough, UNESCO estimates that only ~2% of deaf children have access to education in sign language.
Very few TV programs are available in sign language, usually only the news and important events.
In The Netherlands, the NPO (Dutch Public Broadcasting) is legally obligated through the Media Act to provide subtitles for 95% of their Dutch-language programs. According to the NPO, this is target has been exceeded.
Video: Often no subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (Dutch)
Subtitling can provide additional information missing from the audio. In The Mole, important sounds are described in the subtitles alongside the spoken language.
On the website of The Mole, you can watch episodes and download subtitle files. This file contains timestamps so the subtitles can be shown at the right moment in the episode.
Step 3: Analyzing
The big question is, of course: Who is the Mole? This blog was deliberately published after episode 9 so we have access to all information hidden in the audio description and closed captions.
By combining both, you get a good idea of what's happening - even if you are deaf and/or blind.
With the help of AI, we merged the audio description and subtitling into chronological text. We then gave instructions to unmask the Mole based on suspicious actions.
A notable result is that the AI models disagree about the Mole. The highest probability was assigned to Roos and Stijn. Maaike consistently received the lowest score.
ChatGPT 4o Deep Research: Roos (45% chance)
Claude 3.7 Sonnet Extended: Stijn (70% chance)
DeepSeek DeepThink R1: Roos (70% chance)
Well, which model is the most reliable..? If you base your choice purely on statistics, then Roos is the best option.
At the time of writing, Stijn ranks highest in nationwide suspicions (44%), followed by Maaike (29%) and Roos (27%).
On March 8, we'll find out if AI has correctly identified the Mole.
Update: The Mole has been revealed, it's Stijn. Claude was right, ChatGPT and DeepSeek were not.