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The apprehension about AI is not new. Back in 1970, COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT speculated about what would happen if supercomputers decided they could do a better job of running the world than the humans who built them, and, of course, WESTWORLD, in both its incarnations, explored self-aware programs in a philosophical context that only expanded the paranoia surrounding making an entity smarter than we are. Fortunately, we have a tonic to all that in THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST. Filmmakers Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell present us with a panorama of those who created, exploit, and/or ponder what we’ve gotten ourselves into. Using Roher’s whimsical drawings, and balanced with his becoming a first-time father, mountains of existential dread are made manifest, and those who know the most about what we’ve wrought engage in a provocative dialectic. Are we doomed or are we on the verge of a utopia unimaginable only a few decades ago? It’s as engaging as it is riveting, as entertaining as it is intellectually stimulating. It’s like a double espresso (or several) for your synapses.
When I spoke via Zoom with Tyrell on March 24, 2026, my first question was about how his views on AI did or didn’t change over the several years the film was in production.
We went on to discuss how to evergreen a topic whose state-of-the-art changes faster than the seasons, bringing in a linguist to help us process what we’re learning, and addressing the proposition that AI might lie to us one day, if it’s not already.
Tyrell’s previous work includes MY DEAD DAD’S PORNO TAPES (2018), BROKEN ORCHESTRA (2019). And I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!! (2015).
Your Thoughts?