The documentary, directed by Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell, sounds a warning about the dangers of unchecked AI development while acknowledging the technology's benefits. The film was screened for members of Congress and their staff last month.
Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, who appears in the film, has cited the 1983 ABC film "The Day After" as a model. That fictional depiction of nuclear war helped shift public opinion and influenced the national security debate at the height of Cold War tensions. Harris described it as "an example of the power that a film can have to nudge the world in a different direction."
Rather than focusing on Washington think tanks or congressional hearings, the filmmakers are betting that cultural outreach—movies, television, social media—can reach broad audiences and create the kind of pressure needed for political change. The strategy builds on a long history of arts influencing public opinion and policy, including the nuclear freeze movement of the early 1980s.
The approach comes as citizen activism and public statements by industry figures have rapidly intensified the AI safety conversation in U.S. politics.