‘The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist’ review: ‘Navalny’ helmer Daniel Roher co-directs toothless AI study

Dirs: Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell. US. 2026. 104mins

About halfway through artificial intelligence study The AI Doc, co-director Daniel Roher’s parents ask him to describe the film he’s working on: “We’re making a movie about the end of the world,” he replies. Certainly many viewers will share that pessimistic opinion of AI, which may threaten to destroy our environment, eliminate a large swath of our work force and imperil democracy itself. But Roher and collaborator Charlie Tyrell attempt to strike a balance between gloom and hope, which explains the documentary’s subtitle: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist.

Lacks any real perspective or inquisitiveness

Told from Roher’s perspective as he considers the world into which he’s bringing his newborn son, The AI Doc interviews scholars, scientists and the heads of some of the top AI firms. But the results are frustratingly inconclusive and unpersuasive, no matter what view you hold of this seemingly unstoppable technological advancement. The film bows as a Sundance Premiere before opening in US theatres on March 27. Certainly, this hot-button topic will attract audiences, as will the fact that Roher directed the Oscar-winning documentary Navalny. But The AI Doc will probably appeal mostly to those not already closely following the controversy.

As the documentary begins, Roher is about to welcome his first child, but the dire warnings in the media that AI could enslave humanity leave him anxious about the future. The AI Doc is his way of coming to terms with his dread, collecting a series of experts to answer his questions — chief among them, do they think he has made a mistake starting a family during this uncertain moment? Everyone from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to Center For Humane Technology co-founder Tristan Harris offer him conflicting outlooks about what the next few years could look like as AI grows more powerful and ubiquitous.

Because so many professions could be profoundly altered by AI, which might soon have the ability to be more intelligent than any human and execute myriad tasks at a faster speed, The AI Doc would seem to cater to those seeking more information. And initially Roher, who frequently appears on camera, focuses on the negative scenarios. Harris doesn’t spare Roher’s feelings when he tells the director that having a child right now might be ill-advised. Other interview subjects compellingly suggest that AI is the most terrifying challenge humanity has ever faced, comparing it to fear that gripped the planet nearly a century ago when nations started developing nuclear weapons.

But then The AI Doc shifts — spurred on by Roher’s wife Caroline’s worry that her husband has grown too depressed about AI’s dark potential — to include voices that paint a rosier picture. But while the documentary tries to be balanced in its outlook, speakers such as Guillaume Verdon, the founder of AI startup Extropic, largely deliver a facile sales pitch for artificial intelligence, promising an unimaginably dazzling utopia free of poverty, disease and global warming.

Their argument is, essentially, that AI will fix everything, but the logic is mostly based around the assumption that humans will use the technology for the greater good — a difficult theory to swallow based on the endless deepfakes and other toxic purposes individuals have found for artificial intelligence. Even more disappointing, Roher appears to be relieved to hear these promising scenarios, unconvincingly acting as if he is now reassured about AI’s value.

The film gets stronger in its final section, which includes conversations with a few of the leaders of the AI movement. Alas, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg declined to be interviewed, while Grok’s Elon Musk first agreed and then changed his mind. But Sam Altman, who himself was about to have a baby around the time of filming, comes across as measured in his responses, certainly bullish on AI’s future but far sharper and more nuanced than the film’s other advocates.

Even so, Roher’s willingness to blindly accept any and all of his speakers’ pronouncements leaves The AI Doc feeling toothless. It’s a sharp contrast to Navalny, in which the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s direct-to-camera interviews gave an intimacy and candour, which were heightened by Roher’s occasionally tough questions. Such provocative probing is in short supply in The AI Doc, in which Roher’s attempts to personalise this complex story gets in the way of rigorous investigation – including any exploration of how AI could pose a challenge to filmmakers, performers and artists like Roher. Clearly, the filmmakers want to present the material in an evenhanded fashion so that viewers can make up their own mind, but in the name of so-called fairness, the documentary lacks any real perspective or inquisitiveness.