Christopher Nolan calls AI a Trojan horse that young audiences reject as technology advances rapidly

'AI is a Trojan horse that everybody knows the Greeks are inside' says The Odyssey director Christopher Nolan: 'It's a transparent horse. It's made of glass. Everybody can see what's going on inside'

The Odyssey looks set to become this summer's big blockbuster hit, and its director, Christopher Nolan, is busy working the interview circuit. After his comments last week around AI slop and the younger generation's rejection of the tech, the Oscar-winning filmmaker went one step further in a chat with YouTube channel HugoDécrypte - Grands formats. When asked about the Trojan horse metaphor in relation to AI, Nolan responded: "I think AI is a Trojan horse that everybody knows the Greeks are inside" (via TechCrunch). Laughing along with the host, Nolan continued: "I've never seen a technology advancing so rapidly, so completely rejected by the public. Everybody's suspicion of it is so extreme, particularly young people." "The reactions [towards] AI videos online, you know, people my children's age immediately calling it AI slop.. and just putting it in a box," said Nolan, echoing his earlier comments. "Which I think is a very healthy scepticism, because technology is always going to give us great gifts... but it has to be viewed with scepticism, the motives of the people giving it to us also have to be viewed with scepticism," Nolan opines. "That's when we'll get the best out of a new technology, rather than just blind faith that everything's going to be great" 'It's a transparent horse. It's made of glass. Everybody can see what's going on inside," the director concludes. Certainly, the younger generation's displeasure with their AI-influenced future has been easy to spot in recent months. Viral videos have shown students booing speakers at graduation and commencement events after mentioning AI, and given the uncertainty and gloomy predictions about the world they'll be walking into, that's probably no surprise. Meanwhile, tech luminaries seem only too keen to give us starry-eyed predictions of the wonderful world AI will create for us all. Once it's had a bit of tweaking, naturally, and the super-duper new versions are here. Personally, I find it very difficult to disagree with Nolan's comments. While AI certainly has its uses, the over-enthusiastic rhetoric surrounding it is both tiresome, and at this point, more than a little patronising. Scepticism is healthy -- and was also, rather fittingly, majorly influenced by the works of the ancient Greeks. Could I put a better bow on it than that?

As several AI versions of The Odyssey emerge, Christopher Nolan says the technology has to be viewed with skepticism

The Odyssey is currently impressing audiences with its reliance on practical old-school filmmaking, but that hasn't stopped it being at the center of several conversations on AI. While Christopher Nolan hasn't used the technology at all in his filmmaking, several versions of his film and Homer's classic tale are being developed with AI. Speaking in a recent interview, Nolan was asked about his thoughts on the growth of the technology, and it seems he's viewing it with a healthy dose of cynicism. "I think AI is a Trojan horse that everybody knows the Greeks are inside," the Oscar-winning filmmaker told Hugo Décrypte YouTube. "It's a transparent horse, it's made of glass. Everybody can see what's going on inside of there." He went on to add: "I've never seen a technology advancing so rapidly, so completely rejected by the public. Everybody's suspicion of it is so extreme, particularly young people. The reaction to AI videos online and people my children's age immediately calling it 'AI slop' and coining that term and just putting it in a box, which I think is a very healthy skepticism, because technology is always going to give us great gifts, as you say, but it has to be viewed with skepticism." Nolan went on to add that he feels this is the right approach as AI grows in all areas, not just in filmmaking. "The motives of the people giving it to us also have to be viewed with skepticism," he continued. "That's when we'll get the best out of a new technology, rather than just blind faith that everything's going to be great. It's actually pretty encouraging to see young people in particular being so suspicious of it." A fully AI-generated version of The Odyssey is arriving later this summer from another production company, who've said they know it will be inferior to Nolan's. Meanwhile, Deadline reports that Elon Musk has announced his plans to make a version of the film too. Meanwhile, The Odyssey is doing tremendously well at the box office. It's already become Nolan's highest rated movie from critics and it had the second highest opening of his career so far, just behind The Dark Knight Rises. For more on the film, check out our The Odyssey review, our breakdown of The Odyssey monsters, and our deep dive into The Odyssey ending explained.

Christopher Nolan Calls AI a 'Trojan Horse' Says Young Audiences Reject It

Famous filmmaker Christopher Nolan says that AI may be a useful tool, but replacing it with human creativity is "nonsense," describing the technology as a "Trojan horse." His comments reflect growing concerns over the technology's impact on creativity, filmmaking and the value of human-made work. Nolan believes reactions from the public to generative AI were particularly fast and aggressive. According to Nolan, younger generations, even his own kids, can easily discern and disregard what is often referred to as 'AI slop.' , "The younger generation has grown up online and understands how digital content is created and circulated". That familiarity, he suggested, makes it easier for them to recognise content that feels artificial or lacks genuine creative effort. He also believes that AI represents an irreversible technological wave. For him, the industry has expended vast amounts of effort in advertising AI, but the audiences are not responding in the same way.