With artificial intelligence on the rise, Cate Blanchett fears it poses a threat beyond just Hollywood.
The 2x Oscar winner recently admitted she’s “deeply concerned” about the impact AI will have on the entertainment industry, as well as the rest of the world, with the potential to “totally replace anyone.”
“It’s a very public-facing industry we’re in, and I think the discussions around AI were not mainstreamed until the writers’ strike, really brought into the public discourse,” she told BBC. “So, I think it’s very real.”
Blanchett added of AI, “I just look at these things and think, ‘I don’t really know what it’s bringing anybody.’ Sometimes, it’s just experimentation for its own sake, which is creativity when you look at it one way. But then it’s also incredibly destructive, which of course, is the other side of creativity.”
The Borderlands actress noted that AI “can totally replace anyone” onscreen, but her concern with the technology goes beyond its impact on Hollywood.
“I’m less concerned with my job prospects than I am concerned with the impact it’s going to have on the average person, on old-age pensioners, on people who are already working three jobs to try and be [above] the poverty line,” explained Blanchett. “That’s my concern; I’m worried about us as a species, it’s a much bigger problem.”
Blanchett said much of the technology is “absolutely pointless,” comparing the reality to her new horror comedy Rumours, about world leaders getting lost in the woods during the G7 summit and getting terrorized by zombies.
“You see these Tesla robots, and you think our film looks like a kind of sweet little documentary compared to what’s going on in the world,” said Blanchett.
