On the heels of my rant about The Thing, let’s complain about something else: AI and Scifi effects. I’m t a loss – where AI could be so much more, Hollywood’s relying on it only to cut corners and prioritize profit over quality. Hooray, the exciting new frontier is another fake future. Nobody’s in the background going “but at what cost?”

I find that hard to believe. Of course AI technology may be impressive, but it’s not flawless. Just like any machine, it’s only as good as the data it’s fed. And who decides what data is used? That’s right, humans. So essentially, we’re just outsourcing our creativity to machines, and potentially limiting our storytelling capabilities in the process.

An interesting thing about this is that there are already examples of people doing things correctly without relying on AI. Take director Christopher Nolan, known for his practical effects and dedication to authenticity. He famously built an entire city block for a car chase scene in “The Dark Knight,” rather than relying on CGI. And let’s not forget the stunning visuals in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” achieved through practical effects and minimal CGI.

But instead of pushing the boundaries of practical effects and innovative storytelling, Hollywood is opting for the easy way out with AI-generated visuals. Good enough isn’t good enough, and we deserve better science and technology focus in our films.

I get it, AI’s cool – but it should be used to make things better, not to get away with making things worse. Quit dumbing things down to make everyone happy. We’re capable of handling more than just mindless explosions and flashy visuals. Let’s demand more from our entertainment and not settle for the lowest common denominator. Because at the end of the day, a well-crafted story and authentic performances will always be more impactful than any amount of AI-generated special effects.