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What if ChatGPT invented the sequel to “Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain”? Jean-Pierre Jeunet tried: “They were banalities,” he admits with a certain relief.
The director and screenwriter behind “Delicatessen”, “A Very Long Engagement” etc., widely rewarded with numerous prestigious awards, is very interested in new technologies.
He does not hesitate to “have fun” with AI, for the preparation of his films and imagines several new possibilities allowed by the technology, like actors speaking with different voices, different languages.
“Become a plumber”
However, the filmmaker, a member of the jury of a film festival using AI (the AI Film Festival), is well aware of the “paradoxes” of AI. “If I were 30, I would be afraid,” he admits. AI risks disrupting a whole sector of employment in the audiovisual sector, as the long strike in Hollywood in 2023 reminded us. “If I had advice to give to a young person, I would tell them: become a plumber.”
As for whether AI can have a creative vision, he believes that AI can be useful for making certain films, such as the “Marvel” ones. “If AI gets involved, it won’t be any stupider than it is today,” he asserts. While putting human creativity into perspective: “When we create, we humans only draw inspiration from existing things.”
Without soul
Jean-Pierre Jeunet has also made a film about AI, “BigBug” that can be seen on Netflix, in which he imagines the future in 2045 with AI. In a quiet residential area, four domestic robots suddenly decide to hold their masters hostage in their own home. In the end, “it is said that robots will always remain stupid because they have no soul.”
The director believes, however, that AI will increasingly play a role in our daily lives, for example in medical diagnostics, etc. “I think AI will replace politicians in the future,” he says half-jokingly.
Les Echos de l’IA is a podcast from Les Echos presented by Marina Alcaraz, Joséphine Boone and Samir Touzani. This episode was recorded in June 2024. Presentation: Marina Alcaraz. Editor-in-chief: Clémence Lemaistre. Head of department: Pierrick Fay. Guest: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, director. Production: Willy Ganne. Music: COMA STUDIO – Floating Abstract.
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