New Film 'Artificial' Mocks OpenAI's Creators, Warns of AI's Dangers
Luca Guadagnino's new film 'Artificial' portrays OpenAI leaders and AI industry figures as vain and self-serving while delivering stark warnings about the technology's risks. The movie was dropped by Amazon after its $50 billion OpenAI deal and was later picked up by Neon.
A new comedy-drama titled "Artificial," centered on OpenAI and the broader artificial intelligence race, drew attention at the New York Film Festival both for its content and its unusual path to release. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film was originally slated for release by AmazonMGM, but the studio dropped it this summer after Amazon signed a $50 billion deal with OpenAI. Independent distributor Neon later acquired the film.
The movie depicts OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (played by Andrew Garfield), OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever (Yuri Borisov), and Elon Musk (Ike Barinholtz) as vain, self-regarding, and largely unimpressive figures. Unlike 2010's "The Social Network," which portrayed Silicon Valley tech minds as titans shaping the future, "Artificial" takes the opposite approach, framing its central characters as dull and self-absorbed within a dark comedic style.
A serious message beneath the comedy
Despite its comedic tone, the film tackles serious questions about the risks of AI development. Sutskever's character argues for safety measures, slowing down AI progress, and aligning the technology with humanity's broader interests, while nearly every other character advocates for rapid technological and financial growth.
The article notes that former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon told WIRED in an interview that former colleagues have described the coming years as a potential "endgame" for humanity, while another Anthropic researcher suggested there is a chance — though under 10 percent — that AI could "kill all humans" within a decade.
The film also includes an earlier scene in which Sutskever and his mentor, Nobel laureate computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton (played by Mark Rylance), turn down a Chinese investor seeking to use their neural network technology for drones and facial recognition systems.
At the premiere, Barinholtz offered the audience a sarcastic reassurance: "The future is bright! We're all gonna be fine!" — prompting a wave of nervous laughter.
