A new documentary on artificial intelligence pushes back against the growing fear around the technology, as filmmaker Focus Features director Daniel Rohr questions whether society should embrace optimism rather than pessimism and pessimism about AI in a conversation with industry leaders, researchers and tech executives.
Produced by Everything Everywhere All at Once co-director Daniel Kwan and directed by filmmakers Rohr and Charlie Tyrrell, the film The AI Doc or How I Became an Apocalyptist shows how artificial intelligence transforms social structures and professional responsibilities and artistic expression.
The documentary features interviews with leading artificial intelligence experts including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
AI documentaries are at the center of a growing divide between optimism and fear. Focus Features director Daniel Rohr said skepticism about artificial intelligence is “very, very easy”, but warned that this may be “the only wrong answer to this”.
Rohr, who won an Oscar for Navalny, said, “I’m becoming more and more concerned” as AI advances into areas such as conflict and military use.
He said the industry is moving so fast that definitions are unclear. “By your definition, we have reached AGI,” he said, referring to debates over artificial general intelligence.
The AI documentary also highlights the tension between security-focused companies and aggressive expansion in the AI field. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been characterized by Rohr as central figures in what Rohr calls a global AI “arms race.”
Rohr criticized industry executives because he saw an executive as someone who was media-trained out the wazoo and not a particularly real person, while he also needed to explain that “the battle is not lost yet” regarding AI regulation and copyright issues.
People are already experiencing job changes due to artificial intelligence that creates both new ways of working and new regulations that require governments to create protective systems.
Despite concerns, AI documentaries promote engagement rather than rejection. “The worst thing you can do is be cynical,” Rohr said, adding that people should understand AI tools and their impact.
He also stressed collective responsibility, saying, “We need all of us to find solutions here.”
