OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes AI is a good thing for Hollywood and will not hurt the industry as much as critics of the technology may be worried about.
“I think people really care about other people,” Altman told me at the Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on Saturday when I asked about industry concern that AI will lead to job cuts and less creativity. “I think people really care about the human beings behind the stories and the art and the creative work that matters so much, so my instinct is it’s going to go the other way and people will care more about humans and more about human creators in the future, not less.”
Altman said that he isn’t talking to Hollywood insiders on a daily basis, but also “not infrequently.”
“We do hear a lot from creatives who are like, ‘I have these new ideas. I want to give input into the next model. I want these things to be possible,’” he said.
In late March, Altman informed new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro that he was closing the Sora video-gen platform before Disney was able to launch characters in the system.
Altman felt “terrible” about it, but said during an interview on iHeartPodcasts’ “Mostly Human” that Disney and OpenAI are still looking to work together. Following the Sora closure, Disney cancelled its $1 billion investment in the AI company.
On Saturday, Altman declined to share his views when asked about the late Val Kilmer being resurrected by AI to be the star of the upcoming movie “As Deep as the Grave.” “I don’t think I’m the best person to answer that question,” he said. “I probably have no deep insight there that people in this room don’t have better things to say about it.”
As for calls for more regulation around AI, Altman said, “I think some regulation will be important. It’s obviously very important to get it right.”
Leave a Reply