‘Odyssey’ director Christopher Nolan calls AI an obvious ‘Trojan horse’

Christopher Nolan, the Oscar-winning director whose new version of “The Odyssey” is currently conquering the box office , said it’s been “pretty encouraging” to see deep skepticism of AI, especially from young people .

Nolan was responding to a question from interviewer Hugo Travers , who publishes on YouTube under the name HugoDécrypte. Travers brought up the legendary Trojan horse, which plays a key role in Nolan’s film — just as the horse was a gift concealing murderous Greek invaders, he wondered if AI might be something “that you welcome in your daily life” only to see it become “something else and something darker.”

Laughing, Nolan responded, “I think AI is a Trojan horse that everybody knows the Greeks are inside.” He later described the technology as “a transparent horse, it’s made of glass.”

“I’ve never seen a technology advancing so rapidly [that’s been] so completely rejected by the public,” he said. “Everybody’s suspicion of it is so extreme, particularly young people. The reaction to AI videos online and people my children’s age immediately calling it ‘AI slop’ and coining that term and just putting it in a box.”

In Nolan’s view, this is “a very healthy skepticism, because technology is always going to give us great gifts, as you say, but it has to be viewed with skepticism.” Similarly, he said, “The motives of the people giving it to us also have to be viewed with skepticism. That’s when we’ll get the best out of a new technology, rather than just blind faith that everything’s going to be great.” (Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been angrily posting about the film’s nonwhite and transgender cast members .)

Nolan didn’t get more specific about what he views as the threat from AI, but the technology has been a growing source of concern in Hollywood and was a major focus during the writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023 . The Directors Guild of America, where Nolan is president, also won some generative AI protections in its most recent contract.

The director has been famously resistant to other technologies, including smartphones; his embrace of film can make him seem simultaneously like a Luddite and a pioneer, with “The Odyssey” becoming the first feature film to be shot entirely on Imax film and cameras.

When The New York Times recently asked Nolan if he thinks of himself as a technophobe , he replied, “I think of myself as a techno-skeptic,” and said his love of film comes from the fact that it’s “better in terms of representing the way the eye sees the world than any digital imaging system I’ve seen.”

“I embrace new technology all the time, but it tends to be sold to people at the expense of systems that might still be valid and viable,” Nolan said. “That’s what I saw in my industry — throwing the baby out with the bath water. We almost lost film!”

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission . This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

Anthony Ha is TechCrunch’s weekend editor. Previously, he worked as a tech reporter at Adweek, a senior editor at VentureBeat, a local government reporter at the Hollister Free Lance, and vice president of content at a VC firm. He lives in New York City.

You can contact or verify outreach from Anthony by emailing anthony.ha@techcrunch.com .

Last chance to save up to $190 on TechCrunch Founder Summit. Join 1,000+ founders and VCs at all stages for real-world scaling insights and connections that move the needle. Savings end June 26, 11:59 p.m. PT .

Coca-Cola suspended production at its Fairlife dairy after a ransomware attack

Tesla driver in fatal Texas crash pressed accelerator 100%, NTSB confirms

Amid hardware legal battle, OpenAI releases a $230 keyboard for Codex

Anthropic, Blackstone bet the next trillion-dollar AI business is implementation, not just models

OpenAI’s first hardware device is reportedly a screenless speaker that can move

Anthropic’s newest ad is creeping people out

Satya Nadella has issued a shocking warning to companies using AI