Swiss film director faces backlash over AI-written screenplay
Peter Luisi also directed the comedy Bon Schuur Ticino.
Keystone-SDA
Complaints from film fans over the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has led Prince Charles Cinema in London to cancel the premiere of The Last Screenwriter. Zurich director Peter Luisi criticised the lack of willingness to engage in debate over AI.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The premiere of The Last Screenwriter by Peter Luisi, who also directed the comedy Bon Schuur Ticino, should have taken place a few days ago at the Prince Charles Cinema in London.
However, following strong reactions and complaints, the cinema decided to cancel the premiere. At issue, was Luisi’s use of AI to write the screenplay.
Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here.
“From the beginning, I knew that this was a controversial topic at a sensitive time and that it would not leave people unscathed,” Luisi said in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. Nevertheless, he was surprised by what happened, and the intensity of the feedback. It has been a year since the potential risks of AI were the focus of the writers’ strike in Hollywood.
The Last Screenwriter tells the story of a screenwriter who discovers that AI can write better than him. According to Luisi, this is an experiment. The story “is intended to spark a discussion and never had a commercial goal”.
Luisi did not receive any financial support for this film. The work was financed with money from the funding he received for the success of the film Bon Schuur Ticino.
More
More
Locarno Film Festival: where dreams collide with artificial intelligence
This content was published on
Turkish film critic Öykü Sofuoğlu takes us on a journey on “A Long Night of Dreaming about The Future of Intelligence”.
Luisi told Keystone-SDA that he regretted the decision, but of course respected it. However, he expressed his frustration that critics failed to engage with the subject matter. “They have only heard or read: The script was written by AI. That was enough. That’s all they wanted to know,” says the director.
The film was finally shown to the crew on a smaller scale in another cinema. It will also be available for viewing on the web in mid-July.
Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
Heimatort, sweet Heimatort: the unique Swiss concept of home
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Over a quarter of Swiss Catholics consider leaving the church
This content was published on
In Switzerland 27% of Catholics have thought about leaving the church, according to a survey by the Sotomo research centre.
This content was published on
Following the Credit Suisse debacle, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is adapting its organisation.
This content was published on
The Swiss Armed Forces are training their fighter jets in Bern to fly from a civilian base. The exercise at Bern Airport will last until Wednesday.
Plans materialise for new particle accelerator in Geneva
This content was published on
Preparations for a huge new particle accelerator in Geneva have reached a milestone. After several years of work, a feasibility study for the project has now been finalised.
This content was published on
The value of frozen Russian assets in Switzerland currently stands at CHF7.4 billion ($8.4 billion), the Swiss government announced on Tuesday.
This content was published on
The number of business start-ups in Switzerland accelerated in the first three months of the year, with entrepreneurs being particularly dynamic in Central Switzerland, Basel and Geneva.
Most Swiss authorities want to ban Nazi symbols in public
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss political parties, cantons and associations want to ban the use and distribution of Nazi symbols in public.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.