Greetings again from the darkness. As far as non-political topics go, none are hotter than Artificial Intelligence (AI). What is the potential? What are the risks? Will it be used for good or evil? Who will control its use? Who am I kidding … AI is very much a political topic, and all of these questions have political and social implications. Award-winning documentarian Adam Bhala Lough has the same questions and concerns that we all do, and he decides to seek answers from the face of and driving force behind AI: Sam Altman, the founder of AI research organization OpenAI, which developed the chatbot, ChatGPT.
We watch his attempts to secure an interview with Altman through an endless stream of emails and voicemails – all with no response. In a somewhat comical bit, we see what are clearly OpenAI employees pleading ignorance to the whereabouts of the OpenAI building. For tech geeks, it’s the holy grail job and none are going to risk losing it by breaking an NDA. Upon realizing that the interview isn’t going to happen, Lough shifts into artist mode and decides to use AI to create SamBot … an imagined version of Sam Altman utilizing ChatGPT to answer Lough’s questions. This idea sends Lough to India for casting and a partnership with an AI developer.
It’s actually quite fascinating to watch this entire process come together, and of course, ethical and legal questions abound. The final interview with SamBot is obviously fake, yet Lough’s team of attorneys mull the legalities of marketing this. It’s no surprise that the legal risks are not the most entertaining piece of this puzzle. Instead, we watch SamBot (voiced by ChatGPT) actually manipulate Lough through the interview. Now, THAT is simultaneously entertaining and frightening, and speaks to the core issues with AI. Early on, Lough wonders if his young kids might someday have more AI friends than human ones, and this simple exercise shows just how possible that scenario is. Technology is your friend … right up until it isn’t.
Opens January 16 at the QUAD Cinema in New York City
January 30 at the Laemmle NoHo Theater in Los Angeles
Followed by a Nationwide Theatrical Roll Out
Movie Reviews from the Dark 