AI + Creativity = ?

Shekhar Kapur on the future of movie-making

Couldn’t have asked for a better pre-birthday surprise. Thank you, Harvard Business Review Press. Couldn’t have asked for a cuter person to launch my co-authored book. Thank you, Sama.

I reconnected with the remarkable filmmaker Shekhar Kapur at the Jaipur Literature Festival in London. He was talking about the future of filmmaking and the impact of AI on the creative process. Among other things, he mentioned that in the future, he would be prompting films rather than making them from scratch.

This AI-driven approach could potentially disrupt the entire filmmaking industry, making the process more efficient, cost-effective, and accessible to a broader range of creators. Kapur painted a picture where a director's vision could be brought to life with unprecedented speed and agility, unencumbered by the logistical challenges and resource constraints that often plague traditional film productions.

I asked him if he felt that AI would make him redundant and he said the fears of technology-induced redundancy have always been overblown. I subscribe to his techno-optimistic perspective but there are legitimate fears about AI and its impact on creative professionals. You may want to listen to philosopher John Danaher’s take on this.

P.S. We will be discussing this in detail at the India Global Forum in London. You can attend the event by subscribing.