After four and a half decades since the release of "Alien," director Ridley Scott remains cautious about the advancement of artificial intelligence.
Ridley Scott's upcoming film, titled "Gladiator II," is about to hit theaters, but the acclaimed director is renowned more for his futuristic sci-fi stories than his historical dramas, with "Blade Runner" and the "Alien" series being his most recognized works. In a recent interview, where the focus was mainly on the sequel to his 2000 Best Picture winner, Scott (who turns 87 shortly) was inquired about a significant issue in the cinematic world: the application of AI.
The question, posed by Deadline, was specifically related to Scott's "skeptical" perspective on AI as depicted in the 1979 "Alien" movie, asking if his opinion has changed over the past four decades. "AI is a tool," he explained to Deadline, "but it can also be a destructive force, even towards good things. There are a few individuals who might be able to think beyond its limitations and utilize it for the greater good, the groundbreaking idea. That would include 'Aliens' director James Cameron. And therefore, we always hope the best will evolve and utilize AI as a tool."
However, he continued, it's not all positive developments. "But see, one of the best ideas that spawned all the great science fiction that followed, stemmed from Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey,'" he said. "You start off with a dawn of man, you see apes fighting over resources in a waterhole...then one morning, the power, not God, the power of the universe has delivered a monolith because it recognizes that the apes are now capable of thinking entities. And they need that boost and help forward. The ape touches the monolith and has the first significant idea in history: he picks up a thigh bone of a beast and kills an ape with it. That's a weapon, that's a million-year leap forward, it's a grand, unprecedented idea."
Scott continued to use the "2001" example to conclude his thoughts, "Idea two, you're on a spaceship now, venturing to find the power that was and is, and what was the moment? Is it what we call God?...Or is it simply a power beyond our comprehension, and therefore has examined us for years?...You journey to the far reaches of space they've never been before, and they're relying on one crew member, named Hal. Hal is a computer. And from that, an AI that doesn't reveal itself to them, but they're intelligent enough to suspect Hal is betraying them. Because Hal knows that the expedition is more important than these human beings, and that's Hal's failure. I hope AI will always make a mistake. I hope so."
Indeed, Scott maintains a cautious viewpoint towards AI. However, when Deadline asked if he would reject "AI that could aid Ridley Scott in creating bigger and better films," the director did not entirely rule it out, responding "never say never."
"Gladiator II" is set to release on November 22.
In the same interview with Deadline, Scott also expressed his thoughts on the role of AI in the future of movie making, stating, "While I remain cautious about the potential dangers of AI, I can't dismiss the possibility that it could aid in the creation of more immersive and captivating movies." Additionally, io9 reported that Scott's views on AI in cinema align with his belief in its potential to be both a tool and a danger, as seen in his sci-fi classics like "Alien" and "Blade Runner."
