Christopher Nolan pokes the urge SAG-AFTRA and WGA members whose studios and streamers limit access artificial intelligence That stems directly from the explosion of streaming over the last decade or so.
Referring to the current “labor dispute”; without being more specific oppenheimer The writer-director drew a parallel between the recent actions of Hollywood and Big Tech and his film’s protagonist grappling with the thorny ethical dilemmas of nuclear science.
“When you innovate through technology, you have to make sure there’s accountability,” he said at a post-screening panel in New York. “For 15 years too many companies have been thinking about words like ‘algorithms’ without knowing what they really mean in any meaningful, technical sense. These people don’t really know what the algorithm is or what it does. The people in my business talking about it don’t want to take responsibility for what the algorithm does. Applied to AI, it has terrifying potential. Horrible.”
He didn’t name specific companies, but the 15-year time frame points directly to early direct-to-consumer streamers, Netflix and Amazon. (Apple, Facebook and others were also well underway with their own algorithmic efforts by that time.) Panel moderator Chuck Todd also complemented Nolan’s digression by suggesting Nolan show the film to the Silicon Valley audience. Struggled to change.
Of course, traditional media companies have also jumped into the data-driven streaming race. Nolan became emblematic of that disruption in 2020, breaking ties with Warner Bros. over his parent company’s decision to air his film slate on HBO Max the same time it opened in theaters.
Nolan said, “If any tech executives or entrepreneurs watch the film, I want them to take away the notion of accountability.”
Nolan then made his comments oppenheimer Shown at the Whitby Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. This was followed by a panel discussion moderated by NBC host Todd meet the Press, The panel also included Nolan along with Kai Bird, who co-wrote the book on which the film is based; Thomas Mason, current head of Los Alamos National Laboratory; and renowned physicists Kip Thorne and Carlo Rovelli.
“When I talk to leading researchers in AI, they literally refer to this as their ‘Oppenheimer moment,'” Nolan said. “They’re looking to her story to say, ‘What are the responsibilities of scientists who develop new technology.’ [Silicon Valley?] Oppenheimer’s story can at least serve as a cautionary tale. It can at least show where some of those responsibilities lie.”
oppenheimerThe runup to its release on Friday coincides with a dramatic increase in labor tensions in Hollywood. The cast walked out during the film’s world premiere in London on Thursday after SAG-AFTRA officials made news that the strike was official. The red carpet has been removed for Monday evening’s US premiere in New York, though the show will go on. After the London premiere, Nolan told the BBC He will “definitely” not work on his next film project until the strikes are resolved.