Danny Boyle has expressed his grave concerns about the effect of artificial intelligence on sectors including the journalism industry, saying “it’s insane what we’re doing.”
“Journalism is one of the great uprights of any civilisation,” said Boyle at the press conference for his film Ink, which will open Venice film festival this evening in Competition. “There are those who stand up and speak truth to power; to have those people in society is really important.”
“The danger is that the tech giants and their AI will be able to replace journalism,” said Boyle. “They’ll be able to have an AI journalist who’s much more efficient, chepaer. Will that AI journalist speak truth to that power that’s created it? That’s going to be very tough and interesting.”
Boyle said other professions are similarly at risk, including teaching. “Teachers are another one of those tentpoles that hold up our society; and teachers can be replaced as well by AI. It’s insane what we’re doing. Where’s the village that we all need? And within that village, there are truth tellers who aren’t popular sometimes because what they say is unpopular. I hope Ink throws up questions like that about the future, what we’re ploughing into.”
Tricky balance
Based on James Graham’s play and beginning in 1969, the film sees rising media tycoon Rupert Murdoch acquire The Sun newspaper, and with editor Larry Lamb turn it into the UK’s most influential tabloid.
Graham said that he was forced to rearrange his Boxing Day plans when he was told that Murdoch was coming to see the play in London’s West End a few years ago.
“It’s an incredibly tricky balance,” said Graham of what Murdoch’s reaction might be to the film. “How do you try to get access so that you can do your research; but then you also have to keep your independence, integrity and distance.”
“He was very good at not really giving anything away, which is probably one of the secrets to his success,” said the writer. “The one thing I do remember is Murdoch really enjoyed the sequence that we replicated in the film of hot metal press – the dirt, steam and filth that used to go into making a paper on a daily basis. He was really charmed by that. He’s a newsman; we think of him as a businessman, but I remembered he has a romance towards the news.”
Guy Pearce, an Australian by birth like Murdoch [who is now a US citizen], said he had been in touch with Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth Murdoch, herself a film producer at Sister Pictures, about his casting. “She did say “Dad’s very happy that you’re playing him,” but he hadn’t seen the film at that point, so we’ll see,” said Pearce.
Boyle acknowledged that “there are lots of people who like The Sun and lots of people who don’t”, and said that, like the play, the film “doesn’t monsterise Rupert Murdoch.”
“At the time he represented a breath of fresh air in what was a very rigid British society, and was dealing with a lot of prejudice against him as an Australian,” said Boyle. “I can understand that. He particularly had a loathing for the British establishment, which I personally share as well. So you find ways into it.
“We hope the film is a lot of fun because it was important to us that the audience felt complicit, that we were all complicit in this journey to begin with.”
Netflix acquired US and Latin American rights to Ink in July, with Studiocanal handling worldwide sales and releasing in territories including UK-Ireland, France and Australia-New Zealand.
Venice film festival runs from September 2-12.
No comments yet