Of all the filmmakers working today, you have to put Steven Soderbergh in a class all of his own when it comes to experimentation in visual storytelling. Sure, folks like James Cameron are pushing technology to the limits, but Soderbergh is equally as experimental when it comes to story, structure, and delivery. He’s never afraid to embrace a new medium, whether it’s TV, streaming, short-form content (RIP Quibi), etc… So, you have to assume he has thoughts on the rise of artificial intelligence (A.I.), especially when it comes to storytelling. And Soderbergh has thoughts, but maybe not as apocalyptic as you might imagine.
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Speaking to Variety, Steven Soderbergh talked about his new project, a limited series titled “Full Circle,” as well as a swath of other topics including A.I. And while there are folks out there, particularly during the ongoing WGA Strike, talking about the evils of generative A.I. when it comes to writing, the filmmaker doesn’t necessarily see the technology as a threat… just yet. You see, as good as generative A.I. is at writing words based on series of data, it lacks soul.
“I may be the Neville Chamberlain of this subject, but I am not afraid of A.I. in this specific context,” explained Soderbergh. “It has no life experience. It’s never been hungover. It’s never made a meal for anybody it loved. It’s never been scared walking home late at night. It’s never felt insecure because somebody that it went to high school with 20 years ago has become incredibly successful. I’m not afraid of it. It’s just another tool. If it helps you finish a first draft of a script, great. But can it finish that thing and make it great on its own? Absolutely not. As of today, it is not keeping me up at night. “
Of course, as Soderbergh mentioned, he might be the Neville Chamberlain of the A.I. debate, so things could change in the next few years. But at this time, it’s clear the filmmaker isn’t overly concerned about A.I. taking jobs from writers. If anything, he sees generative A.I., such as ChatGPT, as a potential tool to help a writer finish a draft.
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That said, Soderbergh is positing a world where this technology is used for the overall good and not abused by those in power, such as billion-dollar studios. While an accomplished storyteller like Soderbergh might see the problem with a technology that doesn’t have life experience being used to write a script for a film or a TV series, there are folks out there concerned that studios will use that technology for just that purpose, and those studios might not be concerned by artistic merit.
Alas, like any sort of emerging technology or storytelling paradigm shift, it’s still too early to tell exactly how it will be implemented and used. So, perhaps in a couple of years, Soderbergh will be leading the anti-A.I. charge. As of now, he’s just not terribly worried about it.