Christopher Nolan, director of the newly released “The Odyssey,” said he finds widespread public skepticism toward AI encouraging, particularly among young people. Speaking with interviewer Hugo Travers, Nolan compared AI to a Trojan horse, though one he described as transparent, saying its risks are already widely recognized rather than hidden.
Nolan said he has rarely seen a rapidly advancing technology met with such strong public rejection, pointing to younger audiences’ quick dismissal of AI-generated content as “AI slop.” He characterized this skepticism as healthy, arguing that new technologies should be evaluated critically, along with the motivations of those introducing them.
Nolan, who serves as president of the Directors Guild of America, noted that AI has become a significant concern across Hollywood, contributing to the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes and prompting new AI-related protections in the guild’s most recent contract.
The director has long expressed caution toward digital technologies more broadly, describing himself as a “techno-skeptic” rather than a technophobe. He said his preference for traditional film stems from its ability to represent visual perception more accurately than digital imaging systems, adding that new technologies are often introduced at the expense of older systems that remain valuable, a dynamic he said nearly led the film industry to abandon film entirely.
