Photo: David Benito/FilmMagic
As if more controversy is what The Electric State needs right now. Joe and Anthony Russo’s critically-panned robot movie (yes, the Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt vehicle that reportedly had a $320 million budget) used AI, per a recent interview the brothers did with the Times. According to Joe, the film utilized the technology for voice modulation, which he described as “something any ten-year-old could do after watching a TikTok video.” He claimed that although people don’t admit it out of fear, AI use is common in Hollywood. “There’s a lot of finger-pointing and hyperbole because people are afraid,” he said. “They don’t understand. But ultimately you’ll see AI used more significantly.” Joe went on to suggest that AI isn’t doing “mission-critical work” around the world right now in self-driving cars and surgeries because it still “hallucinates.” (Hey, I definitely wouldn’t want something that might think I’m supposed to have six fingers operating on me.) Yet the director seems to view that aspect as compatible with his line of work, arguing that in its current “generative state, AI is best suited towards creativity.”
The use of AI in film and TV remains pretty controversial among viewers, though. Netflix’s February documentary about the late Gabby Petito faced criticism on social media for recreating her voice with AI, even though the directors said they received permission from her family. Before that, The Brutalist’s use of AI to enhance Hungarian dialogue and generate some architectural drawings and buildings became contentious during the 2025 Oscar season. Brutalist star Adrien Brody acknowledged that “even just the mention of AI is a bit triggering,” but attempted to assuage concerns by clarifying that none of the technology employed replaced people’s work.
The impact on human creatives has been a recurring topic in discussions of AI. Andor showrunner and co-writer Tony Gilroy, for example, recently said that his plans to release the scripts for the first season of the Star Wars show were scrapped because AI could potentially get ahold of the material. “In the end, it would be 1,500 pages that came directly off this desk,” he told Collider. “I mean, terribly sadly, it’s just too much of an X-ray and too easily absorbed. Why help the fucking robots anymore than you can?” What do you think, Russos?
