Ben Affleck calls AI writing 'shitty' and warns valuations are inflated by job displacement fears

Ben Affleck Slams AI Writing Tools as Generic and Unreliable

Ben Affleck delivered a blunt assessment of AI during a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast alongside Matt Damon, where the duo promoted their upcoming Netflix film The Rip. The Oscar-winning actor-director didn't hold back, describing AI writing tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini as producing content that is "really shitty" because "by its nature it goes to the mean, to the average."1

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Affleck's skepticism regarding artificial intelligence centers on its fundamental inability to replicate the nuance and emotional depth that human creativity brings to storytelling. "I just can't stand to see what it even writes," he added, emphasizing that AI-generated scripts lack the richness and intention that define meaningful art.1

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The conversation highlighted how Large Language Models (LLMs) operate by averaging patterns rather than creating original work. Affleck described these systems as essentially "a very expensive autocomplete machine" that smooths out risk and eliminates anything truly original.3

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This regression to the mean produces content that feels assembled rather than crafted, lacking the flair and contradictions inherent in lived human experience.

Matt Damon Reinforces Concerns About AI in Movie Production

Matt Damon joined the discussion by addressing AI's role in facial modification and performance capture technology used in Hollywood. Following an anecdote about Dwayne Johnson's raw emotional performance in Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine, Damon emphasized that no algorithm can replicate authentic human expression drawn from real trauma and experience. "You can have AI understand Dwayne's face and move it into different (expressions), no f*****g AI can do that," Damon stated.1

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His comments underscore the irreplaceable value of human artistry in screenwriting and performance, where emotional authenticity cannot be synthesized through pattern recognition.

AI Company Valuations Inflated by Job Displacement Fears

Ben Affleck took aim at the business narrative surrounding AI, arguing that fears of widespread job displacement are deliberately exaggerated to support inflated AI company valuations. "The fear around AI is because people feel an existential dread, imagining it could wipe out entire industries," he explained, adding that "much of the dramatic rhetoric comes from those trying to justify high company valuations, claiming AI will transform everything in just a couple of years."2

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This framing serves corporate interests rather than reflecting technological reality, Affleck suggested.

He pointed to the diminishing returns in AI development, noting that newer models like ChatGPT-5 are only approximately 25% better than predecessors while requiring significantly more energy and resources.2

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The promised exponential growth curve has flattened into something "slower, and much more expensive," representing "diminishing returns wrapped in PR spin" rather than genuine disruption.3

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History shows that adoption is typically slow and incremental, contradicting the revolutionary narratives used to justify trillion-dollar investments.

AI is Overhyped But Could Serve as Infrastructure

Despite his harsh criticism, Affleck acknowledged that AI as a filmmaking tool could provide practical value in specific applications. He compared it to existing technologies like CGI and visual effects, suggesting it might help reduce production costs. "For example, we don't have to go to the North Pole, we can shoot the scene here in our parkas and whatever but make it appear very realistically as if we're in the North Pole, it'll save us a lot of money and time," he explained.1

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Affleck believes AI will ultimately function as infrastructure rather than a creative replacement, filling "the expensive, boring gaps" while depending entirely on human judgment to determine what matters.3

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From a union perspective, he suggested guilds will manage AI adoption as a tool that assists rather than replaces workers. AI might help generate ideas during creative blocks or provide context when writers struggle, but it cannot write meaningful stories "from whole cloth."1

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The Troubling Reality of AI Companionship

Affleck raised concerns about AI's dominant use case emerging as companionship through chatbots that flatter users endlessly without challenging them. "If the dominant use case for AI turns out to be companionship - chatbots that flatter you, listen endlessly, and never push back - then we should question its social value altogether," he argued.3

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Most users engage with AI casually as chat companions rather than for complex creative tasks, he noted.2

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A sycophanic digital friend might provide comfort but doesn't build anything meaningful or contribute to artistic expression. For someone whose career depends on creative risk, Affleck's verdict remains clear: while AI can assist around the edges, the soul of creative endeavor stays stubbornly human, making it creatively hollow as a replacement for genuine artistry.