Acclaimed filmmaker Alex Gibney, known for incisive documentaries like "Taxi to the Dark Side," faced an unusual challenge with his latest project, "Musk." Unable to secure a direct interview with the enigmatic tech mogul, Gibney innovatively employed artificial intelligence to craft a simulated conversation, offering a fresh perspective on his elusive subject.
Gibney's four-hour documentary, "Musk," currently in theaters, delves into the life of the SpaceX and Tesla founder. As Gibney revealed on IndieWire's "Screen Talk" podcast, his sole direct interaction with Musk was a brief exchange on X (formerly Twitter) when the film was first announced. This confirmed that a traditional sit-down interview was off the table, forcing Gibney and his Jigsaw production team to think outside the box.
Their solution was groundbreaking: an AI-generated avatar of Musk, animated to deliver his own words. "We collected a massive database of stuff that Elon had actually said, and those recordings are the recordings that we actually use in the film," Gibney explained to IndieWire. The goal was to create the impression of an interview, making the subject feel present and engaged, even without his direct participation in the film's production.
This creative choice was not merely a workaround but a deliberate artistic statement, tying into the documentary's broader themes. Gibney noted Musk's own fascination with the idea of living in a simulation, prompting the director to ask, "How about a simulated interview?" This approach cinematically reflects on AI's role in society, our relationship with large language models, and Musk's interest in gaming and simulations. Working with integrated studio MakeMake, the team meticulously designed a set, chose a "gamer chair" for the avatar, and used AI tools to synchronize the figure's movements with Musk's actual recorded audio. Gibney described the avatar's facial rendering as "a very flattering... portrait of Musk."
Beyond its innovative use as a storytelling tool, AI also features prominently in "Musk" as a subject of caution. The documentary highlights concerns surrounding Musk's now-defunct "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE). Staffed by Gen Z employees, DOGE reportedly accessed and archived vast amounts of U.S. citizen data while dismantling government agencies. This raises alarms about the potential for such data to be used to train powerful AI models for political manipulation. Geoffrey Hinton, often called the "godfather of AI," suggested that if such data were transferred to SpaceX, "it would’ve been as easy as transferring a computer file into a folder." This scenario, Gibney noted, could enable sophisticated strategies to influence elections, far beyond methods like those seen with Cambridge Analytica.
Ultimately, "Musk" uses artificial intelligence in a dual capacity: as an innovative cinematic device to engage with an inaccessible subject, and as a stark warning about the technology's unchecked power and potential for societal disruption.