'Never been hungover, never felt insecure': Steven Soderbergh asserts stance on AI replacing writers

That Artificial Intelligence is set to replace artists and writers is an apprehension looming larger than ever. One hears of and even foresees A.I. such as text generation and other intuitive tech being integral members of writers' rooms and slowly permeating the ecosystem that has mainly been governed by human thought and experience. This may not seem like a fully-founded premonition yet, but the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike not only implores but goes to the extent of commanding the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to restrict the usage of algorithms such as ChatGPT. 

One of the highlights of the strike has been the WGA (which represents over 11,500 writers) wanting generative AI to be employed only as a tool that facilitates ideas through research but not in the capacity of a recognised writer. In short, the fear of AI seems evidently big and overwhelming in this context. 

But Steven Soderbergh, one of the most discerning creative voices of the last three decades, opines that there's perhaps nothing to be worried about when it comes to Artificial Intelligence taking over the reins. "I am not afraid of A.I. in this specific context, " he said in his recent conversation with Variety, taking a strong stance on the matter by adding that algorithms and tools LinkedIn to A.I. just do not possess the life experience that humans do.

"It’s (AI) never been hungover. It’s never made a meal for anybody it loved. It’s never been scared walking home late at night. It’s never felt insecure because somebody that it went to high school with 20 years ago has become incredibly successful. I’m not afraid of it. It’s just another tool. If it helps you finish a first draft of a script, great. But can it finish that thing and make it great on its own? Absolutely not. As of today, it is not keeping me up at night," he said in the same interaction.

Soderbergh, a multifaceted artist who has also worked as a cinematographer and an editor (with pseudonyms Peter Andrews and Mary Ann Bernard, respectively) on several of his projects as a director, will return to TV with a new miniseries Full Circle. The HBO Max original is a Soderbergh-esque thriller about a botched kidnapping that ends up complicating the lives of the several characters involved - Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Zazie Beetz, Jim Gaffigan, Jharrel Jerome, CCH Pounder, Phaldut Sharma, Adia and Sheyi Cole star in the series.