Darren Aronofsky's New AI-Generated American Revolution Series Is Not A Joke. I'm Concerned

Darren Aronofsky has been one of my favorite filmmakers ever since a friend introduced me to Requiem for a Dream in high school and pretty much changed my life. Though I haven’t loved all of his movies as much as others (Noah quickly comes to mind), I’ve genuinely vibed with what he’s put out. Coming off the high that was the oddly enjoyable Caught Stealing, I was excited to see what the acclaimed and visionary director had coming up next. Then I saw the trailer for his new AI-generated Revolutionary War series, On This Day… 1776.

Wait, is this a joke? Is this Super Bowl commercial for Google’s DeepMind AI division? No, I’m afraid not. Now I’m concerned. The more I read about it, the more concerned I get. I’m not saying I’m going full John Connor over here waging war on Skynet or something, but there could be some major ramifications for art and pop culture if this takes off.

I Thought It Was A Joke, Or A Commentary On Those AI Slop Videos

Spend enough time on Instagram, TikTok, or any other major social media platform, and you’ll be bombarded with countless AI-generated historical videos depicting life in ancient Egypt, the Middle Ages, or the Industrial Revolution. At first, I thought this was going to be some biting commentary on those videos or at least the societal and environmental concerns of AI use in today’s world.

I mean, Aronofsky has shown time and time again over the years that he doesn’t pull punches when he’s commenting on something, and honestly, I thought On This Day… 1776 was going to be that. Instead, it’s a real series about the Revolutionary War and the founding fathers depicted with AI-generated visuals and voice-acting from SAG-AFTRA union actors. A lot is going on here.

What If This Takes Off? What Does That Mean For The Industry?

One of my biggest problems with this project, besides the aforementioned environmental and societal concerns, is the fact that having a big name like Darren Aronofsky pushing this type of content is legitimizing it. I’m honestly afraid people will see this, see Aronofsky’s name attached to it, and think that maybe this type of series is okay. It’s not. I have a problem with random content creators making this type of stuff, but that pales in comparison to the impact of one of the most well-respected filmmakers of our time doing it.

I just have to ask… what does this mean for the industry if it takes off and people accept it? It’s great that the director and Time Studios, which is distributing each episode, hired SAG-AFTRA union actors to voice our founding fathers, but this feels like the industry is co-signing on the premise when it could potentially put film crews and animators out of work. Call me old-fashioned, say I’m afraid of AI tech, and think I’m getting worked up over nothing. I just don’t have a good feeling about this.

I very well could be overthinking this situation and freaking myself out about the ramifications of AI technology in the entertainment industry, but I just can't shake this feeling. Now I have to see if the show is any good...