“I Don’t Think That’s Going to Happen”: Ben Affleck Shares Candid View on the Future of AI

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Actor and director Ben Affleck, known for movies like Gone Girl and Argo, recently shared his thoughts on the growing debate around artificial intelligence in the creative world. During a conversation on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, while promoting his new action film with Matt Damon, Affleck expressed concerns about AI. He admitted it could bring changes to the industry, but doesn’t think it’s currently dependable enough to take anyone’s job. When asked about the biggest potential issue with AI, he explained:

We’ve been considering the future of electricity, and it’s going to be quite dynamic. There will be significant changes, some positive, and all of it will have a noticeable impact.

When you ask AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to write something, the results are usually quite poor. This is because they tend to produce average, uninspired content and aren’t very dependable. I don’t believe these models will be capable of creating truly meaningful work, and the idea that they’ll independently produce things like full-length movies – as some suggest – seems unrealistic to me.

There’s a widespread fear that something catastrophic will destroy everything, but history suggests that’s unlikely. I believe much of this alarmist talk is actually driven by people attempting to inflate the perceived value of companies.

Has AI in Movies and TV Lost Its Momentum?

In 2025, Hollywood significantly increased its use of artificial intelligence in creating films and TV shows. The past Oscar season was marked by concerns about AI’s role, potentially influencing how some nominees were perceived. Netflix continued to test AI in both new and existing programs, while prominent figures in the industry began to publicly share their views on this often-debated technology.

The debut of what’s believed to be the first AI actress was met with mostly criticism, particularly from viewers and creative professionals. Named Tilly Norwood, she reportedly attracted interest from several talent agencies. However, a large copyright dispute arose around the same time, making some film studios hesitant to deal with the potential legal issues. Other studios, though, saw AI as a way to reduce the expenses of filmmaking and were considering investing in it.

A special showing of The Wizard of Oz at Las Vegas’ Sphere used artificial intelligence to add to the original 1939 film, creating scenes that weren’t in the original release. While some people disagreed with changing the classic movie, the experience proved very popular despite its high cost. This raises concerns about altering older films, as audiences seem accepting of these changes.

More and more people are now recognizing the distinction between creative AI and traditional algorithms used for simpler tasks. Ironically, at the same time, Disney made a significant agreement allowing users to incorporate their beloved characters and stories into AI-created videos. This trend is still growing and hasn’t peaked yet.

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Affleck might be correct, but it’s too soon to know just how powerful AI will become. We likely won’t understand the full extent of its artistic capabilities for years to come, and a lot could still change.

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2026-01-21 02:52