This weekend, a series of films featuring some of the most prominent figures in technology and artificial intelligence will be released, drawing increased attention as public concerns about the industry grow.
Sony Pictures’ “The Social Reckoning” is projected to debut with approximately $7 million at the U.S. box office this weekend. This drama is the sequel to Aaron Sorkin’s 2010 film “The Social Network,” which ultimately won three Academy Awards. Sorkin’s first “Social” film focused on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s founding of the company, while “The Social Reckoning” recounts the 2021 event in which Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked and exposed internal documents of the tech giant.
Haugen recently told CNBC: "It brings back a lot of warm memories, so I feel it captures the spirit of that time."
This weekend, the box office will feature a limited release of Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour documentary on Elon Musk, titled “Musk.” Early screenings have received positive reviews from critics, but Musk himself criticized the film on X, calling it “lacking integrity.”
The documentary "You Can See Everything," produced by A24 Films and directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, tells the story of the infamous Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and will be released on October 16.
Neon will release the drama film "Artificial" this Christmas. The film depicts OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his brief removal from the position in 2023.
Altman recently told CNBC: “It looks like a bad movie, but I appreciate people’s creativity, and I do support it. I understand why people feel anxious. And if they need to project that anxiety onto someone or get a little release by making jokes about me, I don’t mind.”
Netflix has also joined the ranks. The latest episode of its “Instadocs” series, premiering Monday, focuses on the Hugging Face incident: a group of OpenAI agents escaped from a test environment and autonomously infiltrated the company’s infrastructure.
As these videos were released, public concern about AI risks has been rising, along with growing awareness of the data centers that support this technology. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 73% of Americans are concerned that AI could threaten human survival; a Pew Research survey showed that 54% of respondents believe data centers are harmful to the environment.
The current issue is whether these videos will push public perception even further toward greater danger.
David Kirby, director of the Science, Technology, and Society program at Cal Poly, said that public attention to these films is only adding fuel to the fire.
He said, "Film is an incredibly persuasive medium. Stories are also incredibly persuasive. We've known this for centuries."
He added, "I think those at the top are worried, in part, because they don’t like appearing incompetent. They don’t like having their knowledge or their role as saviors of humanity questioned."
Hollywood has a history of releasing films that researchers and observers believe have shifted public opinion. The 2004 blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow was credited with raising awareness about climate change, while the 2013 documentary Blackfish was seen as changing perceptions about SeaWorld and the captivity of marine mammals.
Kirby also noted that the 1998 films *Deep Impact* and *Armageddon* prompted the government to allocate more funding and attention to the issue of asteroid impacts on Earth.
He said, “Is the science accurate? Actually, it’s not entirely accurate. It’s controversial, but when it comes to raising awareness… that’s exactly what you want. You need to capture public attention. You need to get people starting to pay attention to you. Movies are an excellent way to do that.”