Ben Affleck goes viral for explaining AI in recent interviews

In short: Ben Affleck is trending online after showing he understands and can explain how AI works, and he tied that knowledge to filmmaking.

What's going on

Clips from Ben Affleck’s recent interviews are spreading widely because he talks about artificial intelligence in more detail than people expect from a movie star. In GQ’s “One More Question,” he said he has been into computers since he was young, and he discussed how AI has been used in film work for years.

In the interview, Affleck used terms like “machine learning” (software that learns patterns from examples, like a spam filter learning what junk mail looks like) and “neural networks” (a kind of AI inspired by how the brain connects signals). He also said he can write some Python, which is a common programming language.

Affleck connected this interest to the move from shooting on film to shooting digitally, and to visual effects work like separating people from a green screen background. In another clip, he said he visited OpenAI to learn more about the technology. Earlier this year, he sold an AI filmmaking startup to Netflix, which TechCrunch previously reported at $587 million, although Affleck said that figure was “not right” and noted he did not own the entire company.

He also addressed fears about AI. He said his worries are more practical, like how AI might affect schoolwork and encourage “learned helplessness” (getting used to not trying), not sci-fi style takeovers.

What to watch

As more actors and studios talk publicly about AI, expect more attention on how movies use training data, and how creators protect things like a performer’s likeness and voice.

Source: TechCrunch AI