THE AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST - - If This Is The Future, Where’s The Exit?

Review by Steve Barton II

The explosion of artificial intelligence and its swift grip on the entire world is absolutely terrifying and no one seems to have an answer for how to slow it down. You could poll a room of 20 people and more than likely every single individual would have a different reaction or understanding of A.I. and its impact on the environment/society as a whole. In The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, the main director, Daniel Roher is bringing new life into this chaotic new world of artificial intelligence and is searching for the answers to all of these huge questions around it and the future of the world for his son. Daniel interviews several individuals from around the spectrum of AI, from the pessimistic perspective of letting it grow without stricter safeguards, the folks who blissfully believe in a coexistence future with robots utopia and a few of the CEOs of the companies themselves to shed more light upon their intentions and overall goals.

The AI Doc is well-crafted by being shot crisp and professionally. It's edited brilliantly with engaging B-roll and awesome scene transitions. The narrator being Daniel’s wife and having their back and forth certainly aided in the emotional connection to the film itself and you feel their concern for their unborn child and his future because of the artificial intelligence boom. Daniel including the bit about his father’s cancer and how AI could help find a cure for him was one of the few times where the argument could almost flip even the biggest AI skeptic.

The AI Doc’s biggest mark against itself is how Daniel conducts and takes in the interviews themselves. When you have someone on the level of Sam Altman sitting in front of you and you claim to have the desire to answer the big questions, why come out with such softballs? It hardly felt like there was any pressure or contention on him, and it was more of an advertisement and PR moment for these CEOs. These are the folks signing off on huge data centers that are depleting natural resources, yet Daniel asks them about growth in technology. There are several moments where Daniel should’ve just shaved his head bald and jumped in an ice bath, because he fully embodied Joe Rogan and his chameleon interview style. If you truly don’t think you know the right questions or would rather be liked by these people and not ask the “real” questions, don’t make this documentary. Wasting everyone's time with such surface level questioning was embarrassing and often induced involuntary eyerolls. 

Overall, The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a well-intentioned documentary that missed the mark. The film has a fun style and moves well in the edit, but the information itself doesn’t present anything all that new. Providing the opposing sides and their arguments was good, but Daniel never went far enough in either direction to get anything new or interesting. Someone with no knowledge of artificial intelligence can walk away from this and feel fulfilled, but others will find it shallow and lacking the punch it desperately needed. Daniel poses the question to interviewee on if now is a good time to have a child and while most people said it was, the film itself doesn’t even believe that.

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is available in theaters starting March 27th! 

Rating: 2/5