Christopher Nolan, the Oscar-winning director whose new version of “Odyssey” is currently conquering the cofferssaid it was “quite encouraging” to see deep skepticism about AI, especially from young people.
Nolan was answering a question from researcher Hugo Traverswho posts on YouTube under the name HugoDécrypte. Travers pointed to the legendary Trojan horse, which plays a key role in Nolan’s film – as the horse was a gift hiding murderous Greek invaders, wondering if artificial intelligence might be something “you welcome into your everyday life” only to see it become “something else and something darker”.
Laughing, Nolan replied: “I think artificial intelligence is a Trojan horse that everyone knows the Greeks are in.” He later described the technology as “a transparent horse, it’s made of glass.”
“I’ve never seen technology move so fast [that’s been] so completely rejected by the public,” she said. “Everyone’s suspicion is so extreme, especially young people. The reaction to AI videos on the internet and people my kids’ age immediately calling it ‘AI slop’ and making up that term and putting it in a box.”
In Nolan’s view, this is “a very healthy skepticism, because technology will always give us great gifts, as you say, but we have to look at it with skepticism.” Likewise, he said, “The motivations of the people who give it to us should also be viewed with skepticism. That’s when we’re going to get the best out of a new technology, and not just blind faith that everything will work out perfectly.” (Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was post with anger about the film’s non-white and transgender cast members.)
Nolan didn’t get more specific about what he sees as the threat from artificial intelligence, but the technology is a growing concern in Hollywood and was a major focus during the writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023. The Directors Guild of America, where Nolan is president, also gained some genetic AI protections in her most recent contract.
The director was famously resistant to other technologies, including smartphones. his embrace of the film can make him simultaneously seem like a Luddite and a trailblazer, with “The Odyssey” becoming the first feature film shot entirely on Imax film and cameras.
When the New York Times recently asked Nolan if he considers himself a technophobehe replied, “I think of myself as a technosceptic,” and said his love of cinema comes from the fact that it’s “better in terms of representing the way the eye sees the world than any digital imaging system I’ve seen.”
“I embrace new technology all the time, but it tends to be sold to people at the expense of systems that may still be valid and viable,” Nolan said. “That’s what I saw in my industry – throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We almost lost a movie!”
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