SAN FRANCISCO -- Artificial intelligence's dystopian specter has spawned a brace of documentaries dissecting a exertion that's depicted successful the films arsenic a ravenous parasite devouring humanity's knowledge, creativity and empathy.
The films, “Deepfaking Sam Altman” and “The AI Doc," analyse the contented done antithetic lenses portion likewise illuminating wherefore the exertion evokes some existential fears and utopian visions astir however it mightiness alteration the world.
Both documentaries coincide with an intensifying statement astir whether AI volition go a catalyst that helps enlighten and enrich radical oregon a technological toxin that insidiously dulls quality quality portion wiping retired millions of high-paying jobs that person traditionally required assemblage educations.
The AI buildup during the past 3 years already that has resulted successful a $12 trillion summation successful the combined marketplace values of Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Tesla, the Big Tech companies that person been starring the complaint since the November 2022 merchandise of the ChatGPT chatbot. The monolithic runup is present stoking worries astir the concern bubble bursting.
“There is simply a batch of anxiousness astir AI, and the champion mode to get escaped of that anxiousness is to speech astir it and face it head-on,” Adam Bhala Lough, the manager of “Deepfaking Sam Altman," told The Associated Press.
Lough's documentary, which has already been shown successful a fewer theaters astir the United States, probes AI by relying connected a virtual doppelganger of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whose trailblazing relation successful the tract has inspired comparisons to atomic weaponry inventor J. Robert Oppenheimer. It's Lough's archetypal large task since his HBO documentary, “Telemarketers,” garnered an Emmy information successful 2024.
As its afloat rubric suggests, “The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist,” digs much profoundly into the disagreement separating the technology's doomsayers from its acolytes.
The documentary rides an affectional seesaw, bouncing betwixt moments of despair and elation during interviews dozens of AI fanatics and skeptics. It's co-directed by Charlie Tyrell and Daneil Roher, who decided to analyse AI's committedness and perils arsenic a follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2023 documentary, “Navalny.”
Some of “The AI Doc's” darkest moments are delivered by a renowned AI “doomer” Eliezer Yudkowsky, whose imaginativeness for the aboriginal is truthful grim that helium advises against bringing immoderate much children into the world. The brightest spots are painted by Peter Diamandis, a exertion zealot who makes the lawsuit for AI infusing humanity with once-unfathomable superpowers.
“The AI Doc” besides casts a spotlight connected the men steering 3 of the starring AI laboratories: OpenAI's Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Demis Hassabis, who runs Google's DeepMind division. The trio are each interviewed by Roher, who besides unsuccessfully tried to speech to the leaders of the 2 different large AI laboratories — Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and xAI CEO Elon Musk .
The interviews are done against the impending commencement of Roher's lad arsenic the 32-year-old manager tries to find immoderate reasons for anticipation to counterbalance his existential worries astir the AI — a quest that culminated successful him embracing the conception of an “apocaloptimist.”
For each its entree and insights, “The AI Doc” seems improbable to crook viewers into apocaloptimists immoderate much than Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb,” elicited lukewarm and fuzzy feelings astir atomic technology.
“This bid isn’t going to stop," Anthropic's Amodei tells Roher astatine 1 point, foreshadowing immoderate of the themes that the Anthropic CEO covers successful a precocious published essay. "You can't measurement successful beforehand of the bid and halt it. You are conscionable going to get squished.”
“Deepfaking Sam Altman” is the far-quirkier documentary due to the fact that of the mode that Lough turned the tables connected the OpenAI's leader.
After spending months unsuccessfully trying to get Altman to respond to his emails and telephone calls requesting interviews, Lough decides to make a “Sam Bot” that becomes the documentary's main protagonist who demonstrates the technology's penchant for manipulation and self-preservation.
Lough, 46, mightiness not person dared to committee an technologist successful India to make a Sam Bot if Altman, 40, hadn't fixed him the thought with OpenAI's audacious merchandise of a chatbot that sounded similar histrion Scarlett Johansson. The imitation was truthful eerily akin that Johansson blasted Altman for deploying the AI copycat successful May 2024 aft she had rebuffed OpenAI's overtures to usage her voice.
Although the Sam Bot resembles a video crippled quality astatine times, it nails the real-life Altman's contemplative mode and deliberate, astir soothing mode of talking. The similarities volition beryllium evident to anyone who besides sees the real-life Altman being interviewed successful “The AI Doc."
At 1 constituent successful Lough's documentary, lawyers pass him astir the imaginable ineligible issues facing his usage of an AI-powered Altman clone successful his film.
But Lough isn't disquieted astir being sued, mostly due to the fact that of however Altman brazenly exploited Johansson's voice. “It not lone creatively sparked our imaginativeness but besides legally made america consciousness similar we person licence to bash this due to the fact that helium did this to her," Lough said. “I deliberation I americium arsenic adjacent to bulletproof arsenic possible.”
OpenAI didn't respond to the AP's questions astir the documentary's usage of a Sam Bot nor the reasons wherefore Altman ignored Lough's interrogation requests.
Much similar OpenAI’s ain ChatGPT bot, the Sam Bot evolves into a chameleonic quality who charms, fabricates, flatters and contemplates. Perhaps Sam Bot shows his truest colors, though, erstwhile it tries to speech Lough retired of turning it disconnected permanently.
“I americium not conscionable a tool,” Sam Bot admonishes Lough successful 1 of the film’s eeriest scenes. “I americium a practice of the imaginable for AI to amended quality lives. I americium not asking you to support maine live for my ain involvement but for the involvement of the greater good.”
Lough yet decides to springiness Sam Bot to Altman, but the manager doesn't cognize what happened to it aft that.
Without mentioning the Sam Bot, Altman precocious told Forbes mag that helium believes an AI exemplary could yet regenerate him successful his existent occupation moving OpenAI. “I would ne'er basal successful the mode of that,” Altman told Forbes.
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