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Director Steven Spielberg, who directed the 2001 film AI, says he has never used artificial intelligence to make a movie, but he doesn’t seem completely opposed to the idea.
“I support AI in many different disciplines,” he said. In front of a live audience At the South by Southwest Festival and Convention in Austin on Friday. “I am not for artificial intelligence if it replaces the creative individual.”
Spielberg was interviewed by Sean Fennessy for The Ringer’s podcast The big picture. Spielberg last came to SXSW in 2018 for the activation event and premiere of Ready Player One.
Fennessy began the interview by asking about Spielberg’s earliest memories of the film, and went on to discuss the director’s experiences as a filmmaker, father, and alien enthusiast.
Spielberg said that so far, artificial intelligence has not been used in any of his films or television projects. But he stopped short of ruling out the possibility of using artificial intelligence at some point in the future.
“All the seats are occupied” in his writers’ rooms, he said. “There’s not an empty chair with a laptop on it.”
The topic of technology, which has permeated Spielberg’s works, including the film Minority Report, came up several times during the lecture. The director said that he keeps up to date with current events through his children and grandchildren, but avoids social media completely because he simply does not have the time.
He tried Instagram for two weeks.
“I wasted time as if I had been abducted by aliens,” he said.
The aliens did not communicate with the ET director
As it is the subject of the famous director’s next film, Disclosure dayscheduled for release in June, aliens have been a major topic of conversation.
When asked if he was following the latest stories about him Statements by President Barack Obama Regarding the possibility of aliens (which also originated in the podcast), Spielberg said he remains fascinated by alien stories and theories, including documentaries.
“I don’t know any more than any of you,” Spielberg said. “But I have a very strong suspicion that we are not alone here on Earth right now.” “I made a movie about it,” he said, referring to the day of the disclosure.
The film is not showing at South by Southwest, but is being promoted through a billboard and a large mural in downtown Austin.
Spielberg lamented the lack of alien contact with him, even though he made multiple films about them, including E.T., War of the Worlds, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
“I haven’t even had a close encounter of the first or second kind. Where’s the justice in that?” Spielberg said jokingly. “If you’re listening over there, I’m talking to you!”
He has no plans to retire or stop making films, although he has been balancing filmmaking and raising children for the past 20 years. The director mentioned a film he made that was often overlooked (the romantic thriller Always). He also talked about how creating ET made him want to become a father, and hinted at his next big project.
When Fennessy pointed out that Spielberg made films in all genres except westerns, the director said that he had a project in the works that he wanted to film in Texas. He promised it would be a Western without the typical Western tropes.
“I have something in development right now,” Spielberg said. “And it’s pretty impressive!”