'Gladiator II' director Ridley Scott backtracks on AI after calling it a 'technical hydrogen bomb'
‘Alien’ director previously expressed concerns about artificial intelligence, saying 'I don’t know how you’re going to lock it down'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ridley Scott is promising incredible action with "Gladiator II" and was apparently willing to use artificial intelligence to achieve his goal.
In a new interview with Empire Magazine, Scott said, "We begin the film with probably the biggest action sequence I’ve ever done. Probably bigger than anything in ‘Napoleon.’"
"Gladiator II" comes 20 years after the original Oscar-winning film starring Russell Crowe, with Paul Mescal taking over leading-man duties and co-starring with Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In the first trailer, Mescal’s character, Lucius, can be seen facing an enormous rhino.
Ridley Scott told Empire Magazine that when it comes to AI and other technology "you have to embrace it." (Desiree Navarro/WireImage)
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Scott told Empire that he blended a few techniques to create the huge beast.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Computerization and AI, you have to embrace it," the "Alien" director said. "I can have a computer read every molecule and wrinkle on a rhino and then cut it on a thick piece of plastic, absolutely as a rhino’s body, which is then tailored to a skeleton shape."
The award-winning director didn't specify what type of "computerization and AI" were used or if it involved generative AI in any way.
The "skeleton" was placed on an electronic dolly and driven by digital instructions.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I have this thing that can do 40 mph, spin on the spot, wag its head and snarl," Scott told the outlet. "A 2-ton rhino with a guy on its back. I mean, it’s a lot of fun."
The rhino featured in "Gladiator II" was a technical feat Scott achieved in part with AI, according to his interview in Empire Magazine. (Paramount Pictures)
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There’s also a sequence featuring a flooded amphitheater to stage a naval battle, complete with sharks in the water.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Scott suggested the idea to screenwriter David Scarpa, as it was something he had wanted to do since the first "Gladiator" but felt the technology was limited.
"Computerization and AI, you have to embrace it."
"They wouldn’t have been able to really pull off something of that scale and magnitude, and now they are able to. So, it was definitely something that we saw ourselves incorporating from the start," he said.
Scott’s comment that "you have to embrace" AI appears to be a reversal on his previous comments about the technology.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Scott, left, is shown with actor Paul Mescal on the set of "Gladiator II." (Paramount Pictures)
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Last December, the "Blade Runner" director told Rolling Stone he was terrified about AI taking over society.
"We have to lock down AI. And I don’t know how you’re going to lock it down," he told the outlet. "They have these discussions in the government, ‘How are we going to lock down AI?’ Are you f---ing kidding? You’re never going to lock it down. Once it’s out, it’s out."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He continued, "If I’m designing AI, I’m going to design a computer whose first job is to design another computer that’s cleverer than the first one. And when they get together, then you’re in trouble, because then it can take over the whole electrical-monetary system in the world and switch it off. That’s your first disaster. It’s a technical hydrogen bomb. Think about what that would mean."
The 86-year-old also spoke about AI in relation to the actors' and writers’ strikes that took place over the summer last year.
Last December, Scott called AI a "technical hydrogen bomb." (Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They really have to not allow this, and I don’t know how you can control it," he said.
He added, referring to generative AI, "There’s something noncreative about data. You’re going to get a painting created by a computer, but I like to believe – and I’m saying this without confidence – it won’t work with anything particularly special that requires emotion or soul. With that said, I’m still worried about it."
Fox News Digital reached out to Scott's reps for additional comment, but they did not immediately respond.