Hollywood veteran Steven Spielberg, who directed the 2001 sci-fi film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, does not believe in the idea of relying on AI for creative decisions, he said in a recent interview on the sidelines of an event in California Thursday.
“I don't want AI making any creative decisions that I can't make myself… and I don't want to use AI as a non-human collaborator, in trying to work out my creative thinking,” the 78-year-old director told Reuters.
Spielberg’s remarks come decades after he made the 2001 sci-fi film A.I. Artificial Intelligence. The film revolves around a humanoid robot, who experiences love, loss and sentience. The film predated the present scenario of rapid development in AI technology. Spielberg acknowledged that the present-day AI is way more developed than he had envisioned in his film.
“It wasn't about artificial intelligence as much as it was about sentient existence… It was not really where AI is taking us today. Eventually, there will be a convergence between AI and robotics,” he said.
Spielberg believes that AI might help humanity in some ways, but he emphasises that humans should stay in charge of creative work. Recalling Jurassic World filming days, he recalled how CGI technology transformed filmmaking, reflecting on both the benefits and the risks of such advances.
“That kind of made certain careers somewhat extinct,” Spielberg said. “So, I'm very sensitive to things that AI may do to take work away from people.”
Spielberg admitted that he has not used AI for his films, though he is ready to use it in other areas like budgeting or planning. But when it comes to storytelling and creativity, the filmmaker isn’t ready to hand the reins over to machines just yet.
Starring Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson and William Hurt, the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence was loosely based on Brian Aldiss’s 1969 short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long.
On the work front, Steven Spielberg’s latest film, The Fabelmans, which stars Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch, was released in 2022.