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'Nonsense': Christopher Nolan doesn't think AI can replace human creativity
13 Jul 2026

Christopher Nolan, the Oscar-winning director of Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight, recently spoke about artificial intelligence (AI) in an interview with AFP.

He said that big-budget action films like his would not be affected by AI.

"The interesting thing with AI is I've never seen a technology that's been so successfully adopted by Wall Street and by investors and by tech companies that the public has so thoroughly rejected," he said.

'There's a sort of disdain for things AI'
Public perception

Nolan noted that while AI has been widely adopted in business applications and online search services, it faces major pushback in creative industries like music, cinema, and art.

He mentioned a term coined by young people called "AI slop," referring to the overwhelming amount of AI-generated text, video, and audio content on social media.

"There's a sort of disdain for things AI," he added.

Nolan expects AI to create useful 'imaging tools'
Director's stance

Nolan, who used special effects in his latest film The Odyssey, said he expected AI to create some useful "imaging tools."

However, he dismissed the idea that AI could completely replace humans and their creativity.

"But I think the idea that it replaces human beings wholesale and human creativity, to me it's a nonsense," he said.

Nolan previously drew parallels between nuclear restraint and AI restraint
Past insights

In a 2023 interview with The Guardian, Nolan had drawn "very strong parallels" between physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer's calls for nuclear restraint and AI experts advocating for limitations on the technology.

He emphasized the importance of responsibility in using AI, saying, "The one thing we can't do is let management, employers and the producers use AI to sidestep responsibility for their actions."

Meanwhile, Nolan's film has faced backlash over casting choices
Film controversy

Nolan's latest film, The Odyssey, has been mired in controversy over its casting choices. The director faced criticism from figures like Elon Musk for casting Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy.

In response to the backlash, Nyong'o said, "Our cast is representative of the world. I'm not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not."

The film hits theaters this Friday.