Christopher Nolan calls AI a Trojan horse

Christopher Nolan says the public’s suspicion of AI is unusually strong—and that may be a good thing. Speaking with interviewer Hugo Travers, who publishes on YouTube as HugoDécrypte, the Oscar-winning director compared AI to the Trojan horse featured in his new film, “The Odyssey.”

Travers asked whether AI could be welcomed into daily life while concealing something darker. Nolan laughed and replied:

“I think AI is a Trojan horse that everybody knows the Greeks are inside.”

He later called it “a transparent horse, it’s made of glass,” arguing that the technology’s risks are visible to the public rather than hidden.

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“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.”

Nolan pointed to the reaction to AI-generated videos online, saying people his children’s age quickly label them “AI slop” and put them “in a box.” He described that response as “a very healthy skepticism.”

“Technology is always going to give us great gifts, as you say, but it has to be viewed with skepticism,” Nolan said. “The motives of the people giving it to us also have to be viewed with skepticism.”

Nolan’s concerns about technology

Nolan did not specify which AI threats concern him most. The technology has become a major issue in Hollywood, however, including during the writers' and actors' strikes of 2023. The Directors Guild of America, where Nolan is president, secured protections related to generative AI in its most recent contract.

The director has long resisted some technologies, including smartphones. His commitment to film has also made him appear both a Luddite and a pioneer: “The Odyssey” is the first feature film shot entirely on Imax film and Imax cameras.

When The New York Times asked whether he considered himself a technophobe, Nolan answered, “I think of myself as a techno-skeptic.” He said he prefers film because it is “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!”

Nolan’s comments come as “The Odyssey” continues to conquer the box office. Separately, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been angrily posting about the film’s nonwhite and transgender cast members.