Ben Affleck is being praised online for what people are saying is a surprisingly thoughtful and balanced take on the artificial intelligence revolution. During his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, the American actor challenged the hype around AI and its impact on creative fields like writing and filmmaking.
The Good Will Hunting actor said that the hype around AI is exaggerated to justify the massive investment and valuations of AI companies.
Ben Affleck on AI
“If you try to get ChatGPT or Claude or Gemini to write you something, it's really sh***y. And that’s because, by its nature, it goes to the mean, to the average, and it's not reliable,” said Affleck during his appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
He argued that AI is unlikely to produce truly creative or groundbreaking content and cannot replace human creativity in filmmaking. (Also read: 'People are on phones, repeat plot 3-4 times': Matt Damon unmasks tricks Netflix applies to keep you hooked)
He also suggested that the fear that AI will “wipe everything out” or drastically replace work is exaggerated, claiming that some of the hype is driven by investors and companies trying to justify massive valuations and infrastructure costs.
{{/usCountry}}He also suggested that the fear that AI will “wipe everything out” or drastically replace work is exaggerated, claiming that some of the hype is driven by investors and companies trying to justify massive valuations and infrastructure costs.
{{/usCountry}}“I think a lot of that rhetoric comes from people who are trying to justify valuations around companies that are like, ‘we're gonna change everything. In two years, there's gonna be no more work.’ The reason they're saying that is because they need to ascribe a valuation for investment,” Affleck opined.
Internet reacts
On the social media platform X, Ben Affleck was praised for his “clever” take on AI.
“Honestly, Ben Affleck actually knowing AI and the landscape caught me off guard, but as a writer, makes sense,” one X user wrote, adding: “Great takes across the board.”
“He’s spot on, ChatGPT will never be able to create anything great when it comes to ideas for film or show,” another said.
One X user wrote: “Massive agree. AI is a great tool to analyse thousands of customer testimonials, analyse your competition and spot patterns. It's handy as a copilot to iterate on your ideas. But it cannot write impactful headlines. Because it's trained to produce averages.”
“Who else was completely unaware of how smart Ben Affleck is?” X user Codie Sanchez asked.
“He's actually very intelligent. It's caught me off guard before, too,” writer Steve Skojec said.
(Also read: Internet surprised to see Ben Affleck's smart take on AI as he says it won't be able to replace human filmmakers)