John Lennon would have “engaged” with AI, according to Sean Ono Lennon
Director Steven Soderbergh has claimed that Sean Ono Lennon believes his father, John Lennon, would have been interested in AI.
Soderbergh’s latest project is a documentary, focusing on the final interview given by Lennon and Yoko Ono on December 8th, 1980, to RKO Radio in New York, just hours before he was murdered that same evening.
Last month, during an interview with Filmmaker, Soderbergh admitted to using AI for a small part of the documentary, sharing, “AI has been helpful in creating thematically surreal images that occupy a dream space rather than a literal space.”
Soderbergh then clarified, “Ninety percent of the visuals are archival stills, and 10 minutes, spread out over the 90-minute film, are these little pockets of images we created whenever they start talking philosophically.”
Now, in a new interview with Deadline, Soderbergh has defended using AI for the documentary, revealing that he got Sean Ono Lennon’s blessing to use the tools in the film.
Firstly, Soderbergh said he is “pro-choice” and accepts that many in the creative industries are firmly against AI.
However, he added, “Here’s what I do know. I asked Sean, ‘What do you think your dad’s take on this tech would’ve been?’ And he said, ‘Oh, he would’ve wanted to engage.'”
Soderbergh continued, “He loved all new technology. All The Beatles did. He would want to play with it just to see what it could do. He goes, ‘That was the way he was.’ How he would’ve felt about it ultimately, we’ll never know, but he said he would’ve wanted to play with it.”
The Beatles did use AI technology in 2023 for their final song, ‘Now and Then’, in order to clean Lennon’s vocals, which had the full support of Sean Ono Lennon.
Soderbergh’s upcoming documentary, The Last Interview, is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival later this month.
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