The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, 2026.
Directed by Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell.
SYNOPSIS:
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created… and what’s at stake if we get it wrong.
With interviews conducted by documentarian/filmmaker Daniel Roher (working with co-director Charlie Tyrell), expecting his first child in a time of global uncertainty due to the rampant, increased presence of AI, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist functions as a primer on the phenomenon for those who haven’t bothered to look into either the theorized doom or endlessly (and skeptically) positive possibilities. The reality is that Pandora’s box has been opened and there’s no shutting it, which is concerning since there is a high chance for catastrophe as proposed by those in favor of AI and those participating in the international super intelligence race with less of an emphasis on its capabilities and more about the contradictory slippery slope of trying to get there first with as many safeguards as humanly possible.
Daniel Roher approaches his study from a place of overwhelming anxiety about inevitably bringing a child into uncharted territory, adopting a simple three act structure that serves the documentary well, allowing for those predicting the end of the world to speak (naturally, this does not make him feel better about the state of the world, with his reactions being simultaneously amusing while likely shared with everyone watching this), the optimists selling a world of cured diseases and no need for mundane work and the highest education conceivable, before finally reaching a middle ground series of talking points with direct cooperation from AI company CEOs such as Sam Altman (Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk were also offered to participate but declined, with the latter claiming he got too busy). It’s also fair to point out that considering Sam Altman a middle-ground perspective is a stretch.
As absorbing as this documentary is simply from having so many diverse talking heads from various backgrounds and perspectives on AI, there is a thinness to the proceedings. Perhaps what’s most intriguing is how AI is affecting society right now, which is something that’s, well, not good with Elon Musk’s GROK utilizing creepy loopholes around consent to undress anyone at a user’s request (and other nudifying bots), it’s damaging effects on mental health especially for teenagers (a case where a chat bot assisted with suicide is quickly glossed over, as is an incident where one of them became familiar with the concept of blackmail when threatened to be shut down), or the uncomfortable gradually increasing dependence on it for people to proceed with simple tasks or research. At one point, a pro-AI individual plants in Daniel’s head that his son will have the freedom to do whatever he wants for a living, without he or the film acknowledging that the technology is already attacking the arts.
Again, much of that feels sped through in favor of more projecting about how the future will go. Such theories are fascinating and horrifying to listen to, but with so many faces and voices coming at the viewer (with most of the overly reassuring uplifting ones coming across as selling a fantasy that, for some reason, Daniel is quick to buy into), it funnily enough doesn’t amount to much until Daniel’s pregnant wife trashes his ending for the film, pushing for a climax calling to action. One also wonders what this film would have been like if she were a stronger presence throughout.
Whether people have no interest in AI or are casually using it, this is a documentary that compiles a worthwhile amount of information into a digestible 100 minutes that will prove enlightening, especially when it comes to the massive data centers being created and consuming water every time a prompt to one of these machines is entered. There needs to be awareness that much like the Internet was once in its infancy with a society that had no idea it would turn into something that nearly everyone uses on a daily basis, AI is in a similar stage with various companies and nations looking to take it to a further super intelligence, for better or worse (most likely worse).
Nevertheless, there are deadly serious stakes here that interestingly make The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist the rare film worth observing at the box office. If enough people see this or begin taking a general interest in everything surrounding AI, most importantly advocating for safeguards and holding elite CEOs and world leaders accountable, maybe the doomsday clock hands can be turned back. Personally, that requires too much apocaloptimism for me; maybe the solution is to stop using it, period.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
