Steven Spielberg: AI is not a substitute for the soul
By Pierra Willix, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter
Steven Spielberg has revealed he does not use AI as the “final word on anything creative”.
The legendary director, who also released the science fiction drama film A.I. Artificial Intelligence in 2001, has weighed in on the use of the technology in filmmaking.
Speaking on the IMO podcast with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, Spielberg said he did not want AI to take over the creative process in Hollywood.
Although he believed it could be utilised to “find solutions to medical issues”, he was concerned about the impact it could have in his industry.
“Where I don’t love AI is where it takes a position or there’s an empty chair at a writer’s table,” he said.
“I’m not willing to substitute, you know, because I don’t really believe in sentience. I don’t believe there is any substitute for the soul.
“I don’t think that is an algorithm that’s inventible…a computer that thinks it feels more than we feel is anathema to the way I was raised and how I’ll practice my own trade of producing and directing in the future.”
The 79-year old did however admit that he envisioned a future where AI could help “save us a lot of legwork” by undertaking tasks like scouting locations.
But the director said he never wanted it to take things a step further and advise on how to actually make movies.
“Don’t tell me how to write my dialogue for this character. Don’t tell me where the camera has to go. And also, don’t tell me what the set should look like, unless AI is simply a tool in a large tool chest of the production designer,” he said.
“Use AI as a tool, but do not use AI as the final word on anything creative. That’s where I draw the line.”
In the interview, Spielberg also admitted he believed in aliens when discussing his upcoming blockbuster Disclosure Day, which explores the idea that aliens are already on Earth.
“I think it’s mathematically and scientifically impossible that there isn’t life out there,” he said.
He expressed the same sentiment when speaking at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film & TV Festival in March, declaring he believed “we’re not alone” right now on Earth.
The logline for Disclosure Day reads: ‘If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?’
When questioned on the idea himself by podcaster Sean Fennessey, Spielberg said: “I don’t know any more than any of you do, but I have a very strong suspicion that we are not alone here on Earth right now – and I made a movie about that.”
At the same event the director also spoke about AI, sharing that while he did not want to “go into a whole rant” about it as he was “for AI in many different disciplines”, he was “not for AI if it replaces a creative individual”.
