Director Nolan Calls AI an Obvious 'Trojan Horse'
Original: ‘Odyssey’ director Christopher Nolan calls AI an obvious ‘Trojan horse’
Why This Matters
A high-profile filmmaker's public skepticism of AI reflects ongoing tensions between the entertainment industry and AI adoption.
Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan, whose film 'The Odyssey' is currently topping box office charts, stated in an interview that AI is 'a Trojan horse that everybody knows the Greeks are inside,' praising widespread public skepticism especially among young people.
In an interview with YouTube journalist HugoDécrypte (Hugo Travers), Christopher Nolan compared AI to the legendary Trojan horse featured in his new film. When Travers asked whether AI could be a hidden threat welcomed into daily life, Nolan quipped it was 'a transparent horse, it's made of glass.' He called the public's skepticism 'very healthy,' noting he has 'never seen a technology advancing so rapidly [that's been] so completely rejected by the public.' He specifically cited younger generations coining the term 'AI slop' as a sign of healthy distrust. Nolan stated that both the technology and 'the motives of the people giving it to us' must be viewed with skepticism to 'get the best out of a new technology.' Nolan has a history of technological selectivity — he describes himself as a 'techno-skeptic' rather than a technophobe, and 'The Odyssey' became the first feature film shot entirely on IMAX film cameras. The Directors Guild of America, where Nolan serves as president, secured generative AI protections in its most recent contract. Nolan did not specify particular AI threats but acknowledged the technology has been a growing concern in Hollywood since the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes.