Guillermo del Toro slams AI, likens it to Frankenstein’s hubris
Director Guillermo del Toro compared artificial intelligence advocates to Victor Frankenstein and said he would rather die than use generative technology for filmmaking. The 61-year-old filmmaker told NPR that technology companies deploy tools without considering consequences. He called the problem’ natural stupidity’ rather than ‘artificial intelligence’.
Hollywood labor unions negotiated restrictions after the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes raised concerns about automation. The agreements prevent artificial intelligence from writing scripts or replacing actors without consent. Netflix requires transparency when productions use computer-generated content for union work.
Del Toro uses digital effects in his films, but distinguishes between enhancing human creativity and replacing artists with algorithms. Writer Paul Schrader predicted the first artificial intelligence feature film would arrive within two years. The technology raises questions about ownership and whether machines trained through human work should displace creators.
