Steven Spielberg says he has not used AI in his films

In short: At SXSW 2026, Steven Spielberg said he has never used AI in his films and argued that AI should not replace creative people in film and TV writing.

What happened

Steven Spielberg appeared at SXSW 2026 in Austin, Texas, as part of the festival’s keynote lineup. SXSW is a large conference that mixes film, music, and technology.

According to TechCrunch, Spielberg said he has never used AI in any of his films. AI, short for artificial intelligence, is software that can produce things like text, images, or video by learning from large amounts of existing material (like a very advanced autocomplete).

TechCrunch also reports that Spielberg said AI can be useful in many fields, but not when it is used to replace creative people in film and TV writing. That comment fits with a wider theme at SXSW this year, where many sessions focus on how AI tools might help people do their work, and where the boundaries should be.

Why it matters

Filmmaking is a people-heavy business, from writers to editors to special effects teams. When a well-known director speaks about AI, it influences how studios, creators, and audiences think about what should be “machine-made” versus “human-made.” For regular moviegoers, this debate can shape what kinds of movies get made, who gets hired to make them, and whether future films feel more like personal stories or more like formula.

Source: TechCrunch AI