Le réalisateur oscarisé tourne un documentaire sur l'IA en interviewant 40 personnalités, Sam Altman et le fondateur d'Anthropic s'affrontent dans un débat sur la « fin du monde de l'IA »

Oscar-winning director Daniel Roher’s latest documentary, 《The AI Doc》, features interviews with over 40 influential figures in AI, including Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, exploring whether humanity is heading towards an AI apocalypse.
（Previous summary: Has AI gained consciousness? AI expert explains: Skynet is not just a movie plot, the risks and opportunities of AI taking jobs, the myth of AGI）
（Background supplement: AI prosperity turning into an economic ominous sign? Citrini Research warns of a “Global Intelligence Crisis” erupting in 2028）

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• A massive survey with 40 experts and 3,300 pages of transcripts
• Oscar-level production team: directed by the crew behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
• “Doomsday Optimism”: a third way between pessimism and hope

Directed jointly by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell, the new documentary 《The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist》 (tentative translation: AI Documentary: How I Became a Doomsday Optimist) will be released in U.S. theaters on March 27, distributed by Universal’s Focus Features. The film premiered at the Japan Dance Film Festival in January and has an IMDB score of 8.2.

A massive survey with 40 experts and 3,300 pages of transcripts

The biggest highlight of this documentary is its extensive and substantial interview lineup. The production team interviewed over 40 key figures in AI, producing up to 3,300 pages of transcripts, including:

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
• Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei
• Daniela Amodei, President and co-founder of Anthropic
• Turing Award co-winner Yoshua Bengio
• University of Washington linguistics professor Emily M. Bender
• Co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology Tristan Harris
• XPRIZE founder Peter Diamandis
• Game theory expert Liv Boeree

Among them, Sam Altman and Tristan Harris present starkly contrasting views on AI’s future: the former is a steadfast advocate for AI development, while the latter has long warned about technology eroding human society.

Oscar-level production team: directed by the crew behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

The film’s production team is equally star-studded, including directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (the team behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once”), producer Jonathan Wang, and co-producers Shane Boris and Diane Becker.

Roher, the director, approaches the film from the perspective of an “about-to-become father,” questioning whether the world this child will inherit will be better or worse because of AI, as he welcomes a new life.

“Doomsday Optimism”: a third way between pessimism and hope

Roher coined the term “apocaloptimist” to describe a mindset that acknowledges AI’s potentially destructive consequences but still chooses to embrace its bright side. The film seeks to find a balance between two extremes: not naive optimism, nor paralyzing pessimism.

However, critics have been divided. Positive reviews praise the film’s exquisite editing, unique hand-drawn animation style, and Roher’s personal perspective; critics argue that under the guise of “fair presentation,” the film lacks genuine stance and deep questioning, accepting interviewees’ statements at face value, resulting in a conclusion that feels vague and powerless.