Guillermo del Toro would “rather die” than use AI in his movies
Director Guillermo del Toro has stated he would “rather die” than use artificial intelligence in his movies.
The topic of AI in the film industry has again reared its head in recent days after director Paul Schrader, who is a vocal supporter of using AI, said that he believes “we’re only two years away from the first AI feature”.
Additionally, Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, who appears in the upcoming Josh Safdie movie Marty Supreme with Timothée Chalamet, claimed that the film could have saved millions of dollars in production costs by using “AI agents” instead of extras.
However, del Toro remains a vocal critic of AI and has no plans to use the technology for any of his forthcoming features.
During a recent interview with NPR, the Frankenstein director said: “AI, particularly generative AI – I am not interested, nor will I ever be interested. I’m 61, and I hope to be able to remain uninterested in using it at all until I croak. … The other day, somebody wrote me an email, said, ‘What is your stance on AI?’ And my answer was very short. I said, ‘I’d rather die.'”
He then acknowledged how his new movie, Frankenstein, does bear a resemblance to what is currently happening in Silicon Valley, adding, “I did want it to have the arrogance of Victor [Frankenstein] be similar in some ways to the tech bros. He’s kind of blind, creating something without considering the consequences and I think we have to take a pause and consider where we’re going.”
This is not the first time that el Toro has spoken about AI. At the Venice Film Festival in August, he explained that the technology falling into the wrong hands is the source of his main fear. “I’m not afraid of AI,” del Toro said before adding, “I’m afraid of natural stupidity, which is much more abundant.”
Looking ahead to the future, del Toro recently revealed that he’s hoping to make a Phantom of the Opera movie, sharing, “It’s such a classic tale, but I would do it differently. I have a couple of ideas but for now, I’m going into crime and stop motion.”
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