During a recent meeting with NPRGuillermo del Toro has said he would “rather die” than use artificial intelligence, “especially generative AI,” in one of his future films. He compared the growing cultural fascination surrounding the controversial technology to the “arrogance” displayed by the titular literary madman in his Netflix adaptation of “Frankenstein.”
“AI, especially generative AI, is not of interest to me and never will be,” del Toro said. “I’m 61 years old and I’m hoping to not use it at all until I croak. … The other day someone wrote me an email asking, ‘What’s your position on AI?’ And my response was very short. I said, ‘I’d rather die.’
The director of Pan’s Labyrinth explained that the real dangers come not from the technology itself, but from “natural stupidity”, which could lead to mishandling of AI. He added that “natural stupidity” is what drives “many of the worst characteristics in the world.” He then established a connection between the character of Victor Frankenstein and those at the forefront of AI development.
“I wanted him to have the arrogance of Victor [Frankenstein] be similar in some ways to the tech brothers,” he said. “He’s a little blind, creating something without considering the consequences and I think we need to pause and think about where we’re going.”
Del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” adapted from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel of the same name, stars Jacob Elordi, Oscar Issac, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz and Ralph Ineson. The film arrives on Netflix on November 7.
