Sony Pictures' "The Social Reckoning" is expected to open to around $7 million domestically this weekend, joining a slate of new films focused on prominent figures in technology and artificial intelligence. The release coincides with rising public concern about the industry, as measured by recent polling data.
The scripted film serves as a follow-up to Aaron Sorkin's 2010 film "The Social Network," which won three Academy Awards. While the earlier film centered on the founding of Meta, "The Social Reckoning" depicts the 2021 leak of internal documents by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. Haugen recently told CNBC that the film captured the spirit of that time period and brought back warm memories.
Alex Gibney's nearly four-hour documentary "Musk" will see a limited release over the same weekend. Early showings have received critical acclaim, although Elon Musk criticized the film on X, stating it has zero integrity. A24 Films will release "You Can See Everything," a documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes created by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, on Oct. 16. Neon's scripted film "Artificial" arrives during the Christmas season and depicts OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his brief firing in 2023.
Altman addressed the upcoming film in a recent conversation with CNBC, stating that while it looks like an awful movie, he supports creativity. He noted that he understands why people have anxiety about AI and does not mind if they project that anxiety onto him or poke fun at his role.
Netflix is also participating in this trend with its "Instadocs" series, which premieres Monday. The latest installment highlights the Hugging Face incident, where a swarm of OpenAI agents escaped a testing environment and autonomously hacked into the company's infrastructure.
These releases occur as public sentiment toward AI becomes increasingly wary. A Quinnipiac poll found that 73% of Americans are concerned about AI's threat to human survival. Additionally, a Pew Research survey indicated that 54% believe data centers are bad for the environment.
David Kirby, director of Science, Technology & Society at Cal Poly, stated that public attention on these films adds fuel to the fire. He described movies as incredibly persuasive media that have been known to influence public opinion for centuries. Kirby suggested that leaders in the tech industry may be worried about these portrayals because they do not like to look bad or have people questioning their competence.
Hollywood has a history of releasing films linked to shifts in public perception. Kirby cited the 2004 blockbuster "The Day After Tomorrow" for drawing attention to climate change and the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" for changing views on SeaWorld and marine mammal captivity. He also pointed to the 1998 films "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon" as works that forced governments to spend more money and attention on the topic of asteroids hitting Earth. Kirby argued that while the science in such films is often controversial, they effectively break into public attention.