May 25, 2026 | The National Interest
The One Movie You Have to See to Understand the Promise—and Threat—of AI
A new AI documentary captures the technology’s promise and peril—and shows why Congress cannot afford to stay passive.
May 25, 2026 | The National Interest
The One Movie You Have to See to Understand the Promise—and Threat—of AI
A new AI documentary captures the technology’s promise and peril—and shows why Congress cannot afford to stay passive.
Excerpt
Are you an apocaloptimist? After 104 minutes of “The AI Doc,” Focus Features’ latest film, you might become one.
The movie—properly known as “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist”—covers the full sweep of the artificial intelligence (AI) debate without oversimplifying it. It portrays a future where AI cures cancer and gives every child access to a world-class education. It also forecasts a future where advanced models can shut down society entirely.
If you are a Congressional staffer, you need to see it. If you’re not a Congressional staffer, you still need to see it.
The film spotlights doomers like Eliezer Yudkowsky (who believe AI poses an existential threat to humanity) and accelerationists like Sam Altman (who argue the answer is to build faster, not slower) without resolving their tension. It questions whether we can keep the most powerful AI models in American hands.
Leah Siskind is director of impact and an AI research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Thomas Gormely is an intern.