Christopher Nolan weighs in on AI debate, warns of ‘terrifying possibilities’

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer will soon start screening in theatres. Prior to that, the filmmaker weighed in on the issue of Artificial Intelligence in the film industry. He said the use of AI poses a terrifying possibility and people with access to the technology should be held accountable for it. 

2 things you need to know

• Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy in the lead role. 
• The film is the biopic of the American physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, also known as the 'father of the nuclear bomb'.

Christopher Nolan says people using AI should hold accountability 

During the conference, which was held after the screening of Oppenheimer in New York, Nolan was asked about his opinions on the Artificial Intelligence debate. The director said, “Algorithm applied to AI is a terrifying possibility. They’ll be in charge of nuclear weapons. To say that is a separate entity from the person wielding, programming, putting that AI to use, then we’re doomed. It has to be about accountability. We have to hold people accountable for what they do with the tools that they have.”

(Christopher Nolan said, “Algorithm applied to AI is a terrifying possibility." | Image: AP)

Nolan's remarks are made at the time after SAG-AFTRA called for a strike on Thursday to join WGA members on the picket lines. Since then, the entertainment business has come to a virtual halt. The question of AI and its potential existential influence on labour practises in the entertainment sector is a key concern for both unions, among many other differences with studios.

He claimed that since the unions are trying to defend actors' rights, they will be of great assistance to the industry as a whole. Nolan stated that artificial intelligence is a tool and should be treated as such; accountability should never be given to AI. The filmmaker demanded accountability from those who use AI carelessly.

Oppenheimer is adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning book

Apart from Cillian, the star-studded cast of Oppenheimer includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett and others. The script of the film, which is written by Nolan, is an adaptation of Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin's novel American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer.

(Oppenheimer is all set to release on July 21 | Image: Twitter)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning book provides a summary of Oppenheimer's achievements and the FBI investigation that followed. It demonstrates that the physicist lived his entire life in the shadow of his work, mostly with the guilt of inventing an almost unstoppable weapon with the ability to threaten all life on Earth.