As one of Hollywood’s earliest and staunchest supporters, technologybased on community development, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has some choice words for those who benefit from a system that he believes has gone completely off course.
“The tech industry has become a bunch of Lex Luthors,” Gordon-Levitt said (invoking that of Superman notorious enemy of evil) on January 25 as part of The Hollywood Reporter And AutodeskIt is technology-focused panel, organized in partnership with the Berggruen Institute, at Sun Dance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
“In 2010, we all thought that (those in the industry) were heroes – the smartest, brightest minds who were going to fix this messed up world with their incredible technology… but what happened to all those articles about the Arab Spring? What happened to all those articles about Occupy Wall Street? They weren’t productive because they took place on platforms that weren’t designed for human connections.”
He said platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) were designed to capture, curate and serve ads to you.
“Today, AI companies are saying, “Don’t lump us in with these social media companies.” The AI is just here to help you! »And now 100% of the value of (new AI tools) is going to four or five companies.
Gordon-Levitt, who broke out as a child star in films such as 1992’s A river runs through itdirected by Robert Redford, and the hit NBC comedy Third rock from the sun, launched its online collaborative media platform HITRECORD at Sundance 16 years ago and has since become a passionate voice for the ethical and safe use of technology.
He is a co-founder alongside numerous industry leaders (including Daniel Kwan and Janet Yang, also on stage at the event) of the recently formed Hollywood advocacy group, Creators Coalition on AI.
One of the group’s many concerns, Gordon-Levitt said, is reframing Hollywood artists’ understanding of how this technology threatens both their livelihoods and their identities.
“It’s called ‘artificial intelligence,’ but let’s call it ‘collective,’” he said, citing that AI products don’t generate anything artificially; rather, they break humanity down into pieces of data. “And it doesn’t work without all that human input… (so) we have to build a system of ongoing compensation.”
Watch the full conversation above, in which Gordon-Levitt also addresses the dangers posed to children by what he calls AI’s “addictive predatory algorithms” and what gives him hope for the future.