Some, like Paul Schrader, are in favor, and many others (like Guillermo del Toro), radically against. In Hollywood, as in the rest of the world, artificial intelligence is a subject of contention if ever there was one, and a new voice has joined the detractors: that of Emma Thompson.
During an interview on the program Stéphane Colbert, The English actress and screenwriter expressed her opinion on AI without any ambiguity of any kind. Listening to him talk about the subject, it is clear that his rejection of thinking machines is at the level of that of Sarah Connor: Take a look at this clip and decide for yourself.
Emma Thompson’s “intense irritation” with AI
During the interview, Colbert questions Thompson about his relationship with technology and his opinion on AI, a subject which (the host insists) worries many authors. The actress of What’s left of the day He does not hesitate to answer: “Severe irritation.”
Emma Thompson then details her position. “I still write by hand and I still use notebooks, because I believe there is a connection between the hand and the brain,” he explains. His torments, he adds, arise when he cleans up his notes in a Microsoft Word… and he comes across these virtual assistants who make everything so happy.
“Since recently, the Office document has been saying to me all the time: ‘Do you want me to rewrite this for you?'” he recalls, before launching into a spasm of (understandable) fury. “That’s when I get: “I don’t need you to rewrite what I just wrote, dammit!” “Will you please go to hell?”
Given that Emma Thompson is not only an award-winning artist, but also a screenwriter with Oscar (he took it for Senses and sensitivity in 1996), we understand that he gets angry when he sees that a machine believes itself capable of doing its job.
For now, when artificial intelligences get fed up and decide to conquer the world, we know where to turn: the shock of seeing Thompson, always so well spoken, express herself like this would shock even a Terminator.
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