Google wants AI to finally have the lead role in Hollywood

For decades, Hollywood directors like Stanley Kubrick, James Cameron, and Alex Garland have portrayed artificial intelligence (AI) as a danger that could become a war machine. Even Steven Spielberg's relatively optimistic 2001 film, AI , had a dark side to its vision of the future.

Now, Google – one of the leaders in AI [with the generative AI tool Gemini] – would like the debate to stop revolving around technologies as seen in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Terminator and Ex Machina [directed respectively by the three filmmakers mentioned at the beginning of this article, in 1968, 1984 and 2015]. To this end, the Mountain View, California giant is financing short films about AI that present this technology in a less nightmarish light.

This Google initiative, called AI on Screen , is in partnership with Range Media Partners, a production company and talent agency that represents all kinds of entertainment clients, including actors and writers. Range is producing the films.

So far, two short films have been greenlit for the project. One, titled “Sweetwater,” tells the story of a man who visits the place where he lived as a child and discovers a hologram of his deceased mother, who was once a celebrity. Michael Keaton will direct and star in the film, written by his son, Sean Douglas. The second short, “Lucid,” follows a couple who want to escape their stifling reality and stake their bets on a device that allows them to share the same dream.

“It was about coming up with stories that weren't apocalyptic tales about AI, which was fine with me because I think we've seen too much of it , ” Sean Douglas told the Los Angeles Times .

“It's nice to see more… not overly positive… but in between stories.”

This initiative comes at a time when many Americans have mixed feelings about AI. A 2024 survey conducted by Bentley University [in Massachusetts] and the Gallup Institute reveals