Christopher Nolan explains why he’ll never make a movie about AI

Christopher Nolan is known for his pondering movies about technology, and no doubt this effects his relation to AI.

Artificial intelligence has been a major topic of discussion in Hollywood as of late. From the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes protesting Studio Execs using AI instead of working creatives to fake trailers and posters being made for movies, AI mostly seems to be something artists want to stay clear of.

This includes auteur Christopher Nolan. Fresh off the back of Oppenheimer, Nolan seems fascinated with the power and potential of technology in his work, but also the horror of when that power is abused.

Because of this, he has made it clear that he would never want to work with AI on any of his films. Or more specifically, that he would likely never do a film that focused solely on the topic of AI.

For Nolan, AI has already been covered in movies

In an interview with The Atlantic, Nolan discussed his conflict surrounding technology, and how that is reflected in his work: “I think it’s more that the conflict that a lot of us feel about technology is inherently dramatic. I’ve always been a fan of science fiction, which I think is often better referred to as speculative fiction, where you’re looking at particular trends—technological, but also sociological, economic—and where they might go, and exaggerating the present-day moment. There’s a lot of drama to be derived from that, and I’ve certainly enjoyed playing in that field.

“I don’t think of The Dark Knight trilogy, for example, as science fiction per se. But it is speculative fiction. The whole thing with Gotham City was to exaggerate a contemporary American city in all sorts of ways that would bring out some of the more dramatic elements. What my brother’s screenplay for that film brought out very strongly was the idea that surveillance could be pursued through cellphones, and that was way ahead of its time. At the time, the idea that you could image an entire city through cellphones was very improbable and exotic. I remember saying to him, “Are people really going to believe that?” Now I think people sort of view that as our reality.”

And when asked about how these thoughts relate to AI, Nolan explained why he hasn’t done a movie specifically about said issue: “Well, my brother has done four seasons of Westworld and five seasons of Person of Interest, which are amazing, prescient explorations of artificial intelligence and the security state and data security. That, and look, I’m a huge fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which in its elemental, Kubrickian simplicity kind of says everything there is to say about artificial intelligence.”

However, when asked what his next film would be about, Nolan predictably responded with “I’m not going to answer that.”

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