The director sees parallels in the development of the technology with his 1984 film “Terminator”.
Director James Cameron (“Avatar”) has issued a clear warning about artificial intelligence. In his view, the development of learning machines could end like the nuclear arms race in the Cold War. The Canadian also warned that he drew attention to this future as early as 1984.
“Terminator” as a cautionary example
In an interview with the Canadian television channel “CTV News”, the science fiction expert was asked about AI in our society. “I warned you all about it back in 1984, but you wouldn’t listen,” the three-time Oscar winner alluded to his then sci-fi classic “Terminator”. In the work starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cameron painted a picture of a dystopian future: “Skynet”, a military defense AI, develops consciousness and goes to war against humanity.
It is precisely in this area that Cameron sees the greatest danger posed by artificial intelligence: “I think that there could be a kind of nuclear arms race with AI, and if we don’t develop it, then the others will until everything escalates,” explained the filmmaker. “Imagine AI on the battlefield: the battle is being fought by computers at a rate where humans can no longer intervene and de-escalate.”
However, James Cameron does not believe that artificial intelligence could also pose a threat to his industry. Asked whether computers would soon be writing screenplays, Cameron replied, “I don’t think so [K.I.] can ever create anything that an audience [emotional] emotional. You have to be human to write something like that.” He also added: “Let’s wait 20 years and then if an AI wins the Oscar for ‘Best Screenplay’ then we should take it seriously.” Not impossible, after all the machines can already win a Grammy under certain circumstances.
In addition to his role as TV tech pundit, James Cameron is still busy with the sequels to his Avatar movies. Avatar 2: The Way of Water is available to stream on Disney+ on July 6th.