The artificial intelligence reckoning is upon us, and Hollywood has its finger on the anxiety-induced elevated pulse of America. What does 2023 look like on the silver screen? “M3GAN,” “Knock at the Cabin” and “Oppenheimer.”
AI isn’t new. There were critical developments beginning in the mid-1930s in the work of Alan Turing. Research took off in the 1940s in the wake of World War II, and ultimately the principles of AI were realized in the 1950s, a decade that saw the first successful AI program as well as the coining of the term “artificial intelligence.”
Fast forward to November 2022, when OpenAI launched the AI chatbot ChatGPT. Educators immediately started railing over the consequences of a program that can write student papers. Others were quick to follow as we learned that ChatGPT can also create computer programs, compose music and complete countless other tasks that used to be the purview of people like us. It didn’t take long for people to realize that giving students a more effective way to plagiarize may sadly be the least of our worries.
On March 29, a letter titled “Pause Giant AI Experiments” was posted online, urging the cessation of AI research because of its “profound risks to society and humanity.” The letter had been signed by more than 1,000 tech sector leaders and researchers. Within a week, it would be signed by more than 10,000 experts.
The more you dig into this, the scarier it becomes.
More than a third of scientists working on AI say they are afraid of what they’re creating. What’s the worst thing that could happen? These experts caution AI developments could cause a global disaster as serious as a nuclear war. Nearly half of AI researchers think there is a 10% chance their work will lead to human extinction.
As these debates rage, Hollywood is once again like a bird flying into a coal mine, warning us of the dangers to come. The 1950s saw a proliferation of sci-fi and horror films depicting apocalyptic fears brought on by the nuclear age. These films raised questions about what would become of human beings and life as we know it. Some movies focused on alien invasions, such as the 1956 film “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” in which humans become “pod people.” Others focused on humans mutating in size, such as 1957’s “The Incredible Shrinking Man.”
Much like in the 1950s, today we’re seeing an explosion of sci-fi and horror films. The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article noting that 29 more of these films will be released in 2023. The author attributed the surge in these films to their relative low production cost and wide appeal at a time when the industry is trying to get people back in theaters after a long pandemic-accelerated slump. However, it’s only when you look at the content of these films and broaden your gaze beyond the horror genre that a bigger trend emerges.
Let’s look at “M3GAN,” the early 2023 release that garnered commercial and critical success, grossing $175 million worldwide with a budget of just $12 million. “M3GAN” is about an artificially intelligent doll that becomes too powerful to control. The doll also develops malicious and violent tendencies that its creators did not predict. Throughout the film the doll responds to its pre-programmed primary user. As the story progresses, the doll is asked who her primary user is, and she responds, “me.”
Another popular example is M. Night Shyamalan’s “Knock at the Cabin.” In this film, a small group of people must make the right choice to avert the apocalypse. If you’re waiting for the twist, there is none.
There are numerous other horror films that echo the concerns of scientists and taunt total human destruction. But it is not only horror films. This summer, the highly anticipated “Oppenheimer” will be released, a biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, who was instrumental in creating the nuclear bomb. It seems like a biopic about Oppenheimer was destined to be made. Why is it coming when the best AI scientists in the world have publicly confirmed they fear a catastrophe on the level of a nuclear disaster?
At moments of great societal change, Hollywood has a track record of getting ahead of the curve and reflecting our fears. Maybe that is why the time has come for a film about Oppenheimer. Perhaps as the public discourse around AI rages on, we should consider Oppenheimer’s most famous words: “When you see something is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it, and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.”
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