Yesterday, we ran a story about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck visiting The Joe Rogan Experience. While there, the duo discussed the worrisome state of Hollywood and how filmmakers contend with a host of new challenges imposed by studio demands, short attention spans, and a desire to stay home rather than go to the theater. While continuing to talk about the fluctuations of the filmmaking industry, Affleck launched into a reflection on AI and how aspects of the tool could sour the creative process.
To Affleck’s credit, he argues for both sides of the artificial intelligence coin, saying he sees where a creator can use AI to speed up the filmmaking process without sacrificing jobs or creativity.
Affleck knocks using AI during a project’s writing process
“If you try to get ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to write you something, it’s really shitty. And it’s shitty because, by its nature, it goes to the average. It’s not reliable,” Affleck said about using AI programs during the writing process. Still, just because something doesn’t work for one thing doesn’t mean it can’t benefit another part of putting a project together. In the same breath, Affleck says he doesn’t see AI making the creative process better or creating movies from scratch. He says that while programmers strive to get AI to a point where what it produces is indistinguishable from content made by humans, he’s unsure that level of quality is achievable.
However, there are instances where AI can be useful
To give AI its flowers to a mild degree, Affleck paints a scenario for Rogan. He says that if you’re filming a scene in the North Pole, there’s a place for AI to help you with that that doesn’t involve you and a crew traveling all the way to the frozen wasteland for the footage. You can save time and money by wearing a parka and walking onto a soundstage that acts as the desired location. No one needs to pay to fly everyone out there; you’re not freezing your ass off while filming. In other words, AI has its benefits. The scene loses its authenticity by not going to the real-life location, but I understand what Affleck is getting at. Plus, if it were me, I’d likely opt for the AI option too. Who wants to film in sub-zero weather for hours on end? Who wants to lug all that equipment out there? No, thank you. Additionally, it’s possible that, over time, AI could become good enough that we, as viewers, wouldn’t know the difference. I think we’ve got a while to go, but I can see a future where on-location shooting matters less and less, depending on what you’re trying to make, of course.
Check out the spot where Affleck talks about AI below:
